Timeless Scarlet Rain
by NukeMyWaffle
Summary: LEGACY OF POWER, PART 1...6 years have passed after Galaxia's defeat and the Senshi are able to lead ordinary lives. Hotaru is just a simple student...but what if her "ordinary life" isn't as it seems? And what is with all the weird PEOPLE popping up?
1. Oridnary Everyday

Ah, part 1 of my Legacy of Power Series! For now, there's only three animes but more will be added later on in the series, as it progresses and there WILL be references to people, places, things and abilities from different animes, mostly of those that will be added later on.

The "Version 2" is mainly for me but I didn't feel like removing it. It means that this is the more plausable work up of the original story so it's not like a major God-modding one shot, 'kay? And to show the difference, I may just post the original, too.

And here's a challenge for you, my readers: _Which chars from which anime show up in this chapter and in what order?_

Put your answers in the reviews, so I know that you were ACTUALLY paying attention!

So, let's get going, shall we?

* * *

Naruto/Bleach/Sailor Moon

**"Timeless Scarlet Rain"**

(Version Two)

**Chapter 1:**

**-**

**"Ordinary Everyday"**

**-**

Nothing was as common place, as ordinary—as _boring_ as the morning train ride to school. It was mundane and tedious for those who did this every single day but for Hotaru Tomoe, this was exactly what she wanted. She wanted boring, ordinary and common place, despite nearly crawlings because of the inactivity. It had been 6 years since the defeat of Galaxia and Chibi Usa returned to her time, leaving the Senshi to live ordinary lives and the past to continue tirelessly towards the future.

While happy that things were quiet and peaceful, Hotaru was antsy from the lack of youma cells that had finally tempered off about 3 years prior but it was to be expected when one was used to conflict and fighting. And while Hotaru was a happily ordinary 15-year-old girl now, she was _also_ the lone Senshi who was still considered "on call" with the occassional patrol allowing Rei and Makoto to help break the monotany. The Inner Senshi were in college, Mamoru was working at the hospital full time and the Three Lights were on another international tour. Michiru and Haruka were happy playing "house" with Hotaru and Setsuna, who was getting called to do wardrobes for movies and TV nowadays—ones Minako had referred her to when she was doing her part time acting bit while doing school. Rei was taking a few classes amid her duties as a priestess and Makoto was trying to get into cullinary school while Ami was getting closer and closer to the medical career of her dreams.

With Usagi married and Minako on her way of becoming a star, Luna and Artemis were now living with Hotaru and were left to guide the young Senshi of Silence. She was their soul responsibility and she wasn't at all concerned with boys or TV shows, which made their job easier. However, she was still dedicated to become a nurse and they were _more_ than happy to help the girl study and make it to all her engagements on time, since Hotaru was now notorious for getting absorbed in her studies and forgeting to even have something to eat.

And to make sure she didn't get too absorbed while on her way to school, the two felines were in the rack above her head, watching her read a book on old methods returning to and inspiring modern medicine. She had done that before, being so absorbed in her book that she ended up riding it until she had finished it and thus ended up missing school. While delighted with the girl's dedication and determination, Luna half wished Hotaru was a little _more_ active, for the sheer fact Hotaru was overlooking a lot. One example was how long the girl's hair had gotten.

While it looked cute on her, Hotaru's hair had always been cut to her chin and had never reached her collar bones for as long as Luna and Artemis had known her. She kept it back with a simple headband that was a perfect match to the blue skirt and sailor collar of Crossroads Middle School's girl's uniform. She wore a light weight pale cream sweater that she had gotten especially for school, her neatly pressed uniform, a pair of white ankle socks and her black ballerina Mary Jane flats with their inch and a half heel. She wore reading glasses, making her ressemble Ami quite a bit, and a pair of blue studs to match her uniform, like her headband.

Hotaru had been oblivious to the world around her the moment she opened her book when she left the house earlier and hadn't noticed Luna and Artemis had followed her this time. She usually asked them to stay at the house unless it was something important, mostly for their safety but missing school because of a book was something they couldn't overlook, even if it _was_ an accident.

She sat serenely on the bench, her feet tucked as far under her seat as they could go and her school bag on her lap. She didn't chat with the other passengers or watch for her stop. She merely sat reading, totally in her own little world. Seeing such a sight made Luna half want to toss something at her head to get her to snap out of it.

"If she keeps this up, she'll miss her stop." Luna muttered to Artemis.

Artemis chuckled at his wife's grumblings. "You can't be happy, can you?"

"Whatever do you mean?" Luna asked, looking at her husband.

"You complained that Usagi wouldn't focus on her studies and now you're grumbling about Hotaru's dedication to getting into med school."

Luna stopped and blinked in realization. She chuckled at herself. "Yes, I see your point. I _am_ worried about her, though. She needs to be a little more aware of her surroundings, like she used to be."

As if on cue, Hotaru stopped mid turn of her page as someone sat next to her and half leaned over her shoulder to look at what she was reading. She looked up at who was next to her, completely surprised with only mild disbelief on her face.

The person sitting next to her had white longish hair and purple eyes, a fang peeking out of his smiling lips. He wore the boy's uniform for Crossroads Middle School, the neru jacket open to show off a pale ocean blue t-shirt and a pair of white and blue tennis shoes.

"Hi." He greeted with a smile.

"Uh, hello." Hotaru greeted a little uneasily.

"Whacha readin'?" He asked. Hotaru held up her book so he could see the cover. "Oh, interestin'. So, ya wanna go into the medical profession, right?"

"Yes, I do." Hotaru answered, not sure what he wanted.

"Whadya wanna be?" He pressed.

"A-a nurse." Hotaru responded. "I want to be a nurse."

He smiled wider, showing teeth. "That would suit ya, since you're so gentle and ya like helpin' people."

"Who-who are you?" Hotaru asked nervously, getting his smile to fade a bit.

"Houzuki from 3-C." He replied. "You're Tomoe from 3-A. I've seen ya around, helpin' yearmates an' underclassmen all the time. An' ya spend a lot of time in the library, when ya do all your work in class an' are ahead of everyone else."

Hotaru leaned away from him, feeling apprehensive, a funny tingling settling over her skin and playing along her nerves. "You've-you've been _following_ me?"

"Suigetsu, what the hell are you doing down here?" A too familiar voice half demanded, getting Houzuki's attention but he didn't lean away from Hotaru. She looked at the new arrival, not sure what the hell he was doing on _her_ train to school.

"Ah, Sasuke!" Suigetsu Houzuki grinned. "Look who I found. I tolja I saw her on the platform."

"That doesn't matter." Sasuke shot back. "Come on. Karrin and Jugo are waiting."

Suigetsu's eyes dropped to Sasuke's arm. "You're doing it again."

Hotaru looked at Sasuke's arm and saw that he was rubbing his arm, his nails starting to scratch his skin in red furrows under his jacket sleeve. She stood suddenly, dropping her bag and book into her seat, and grabbed Sasuke's arm, pulling it away from his angry skin.

"Would you pay attention to what you're doing to yourself?" Hotaru scolded, not looking at him. She covered her right hand with her sleeve cuff and took his hand in hers, using her left to push his other sleeve back to look at his arm. "God, if you had kept going, you would have started bleeding."

"He's already done it to his bicep. He's been doin' that ever since we transferred." Suigetsu commented. "Karrin's preactically gettin' off with as many times as she's had to heal him. She's absolutely estatic with joy over it."

"That's enough, Suigetsu." Sasuke half snapped at the other boy. Hotaru lightly brushed her fingers over the red furrows, thinking she could possibly heal the damage. If she could trust him and Suigetsu to keep it quiet, she'd heal him right that instant.

_**ZZZZAP**_

Hotaru jerked her hand back, dropping Sasuke's arm and put the end of her left middle finger in her mouth, mentally muttering curses at static electricity. She took her hand away from her face and shook her hand, wondering why that funny feeling had strengthened.

"Weird." Hotaru muttered as she looked at her hand.

Sasuke grabbed her bicep and jerked her around to look at him, gripping both of her shoulders to keep her facing him. "How the _hell_ did you do that?"

"It was static electricity." Hotaru retorted, brushing his arms away from her. "These trains are riddled with it, especially when they're in motion."

Out of all the boys at school, Sasuke Uchiha was the _only_ one that _defined_ Bipolar. He was either indifferent or just a plain ass whenever she came around and to make matters worse, he sat 2 chairs behind her, directly behind Usagi's younger brother Shingo Tsukino, who sat behind her. He never spoke to her before and she had seen him around more than once, usually being followed by a few mobs of crazy fangirls. He hadn't even know she existed until he was transferred into her class and then it was nothing but being ignored or being snapped at for no reason.

"It's called 'common sense,' Uchiha." Hotaru told him, picking up her bag and book off her seat but not giving him her back. "Do the world a favor and get some before you get 51-50'd because of your stupidity."

Hotaru put her book in her bag and slung the strap onto her shoulder, taking off her reading glasses to put them back in their case. Sasuke grabbed her bicep again and jerked her around to look at him.

"Care to repeat that, Tomoe?" Sasuke half growled at her.

"_Look_, Bipolar Boy." Hotaru said sharply, getting him to look at her surprised. She jerked her arm out of his grip again. "I don't know _what_ your problem is but you're the one who's got it, not me. So, check your issues at the door and grow _up_ already. This aggressive emo bullshit's getting old."

Sasuke just looked at her surprised, momentarily speechless at her spine. He hadn't seen her like this, Hotaru knew, since she was Little Miss Nice-Nice with the cheerful smiles and encouraging, uplifting remarks at school. If anyone ever saw through the act she put on, they'd have found out that Firefly had stopped taking crap from people a _long_ time ago but she just pretended not to have changed to keep people from looking too deep. As Setsuna had said before, Hotaru was the universe's best actress and only 2 _normal _people on Earth really knew what she was like.

But she hadn't seen _them_ in years.

Hotaru put her glasses case in her bag and shouldered the strap better as the train began to slow. She pushed passed Sasuke and slipped into the crowd beginning to form at the doors. Artemis and Luna scurried along the luggage rack so they wouldn't be left behind. Hotaru was easy to find, being the closest to the doors, and she had her eyes closed with her brow slightly furrowed, most likely counting as high as she could to keep her temper in check. Just because she seemed slow to react didn't mean that she didn't get mad; it just meant that whatever was pissing her off built up until she had had enough and by then, it was _never_ a pretty sight.

When the train stopped and the doors opened, Hotaru was the first one off, making the 2 felines dart from their hiding place and out onto the platform to keep from losing her. Hotaru was already half way down the stairs and heading towards the street by the time the cats got half way across the platform. Apparently, Sasuke had put her in a mood and Luna could already feel the air begin to chill and see thin clouds begin to form in the sky.

Taking the high road, Luna and Artemis _finally_ caught up to Hotaru several blocks from the platform. They hadn't made a sound or even called out to the young Senshi but so far, they hadn't been noticed….

"For the record, I _don't_ like being followed."

…or so Luna had thought.

Hotaru looked up at them over her shoulder. "You know, I knew you were following me the entire time and if you're not careful, the next time you mutter on a train, someone's going to hear you."

Luna was quite surprised by Hotaru's comments. "You were faking being sucked into your book?"

"No, it's a very interesting book but you should know by now that I can't turn off my programming. I can ignore it to a point and do something else but I can't turn it off." Hotaru responded as the cats hustled a little faster so they were more or less walking even with her along the wall they were on.

"You're right, we should have known better but with your recent behavior, can you blame us for being worried?" Artemis inquired gently.

Hotaru gave them a weird look. "_What_ recent behavior?"

"You've been too absorbed in your studies. You missed your stop the other day--" Luna began, getting Hotaru scoff with a dry laugh. "Your parents are worried about you."

"Okay, a _few_ things—one, they're not my parents. Two, I'm not behaving any differently than usual because I'm _usually_ focusing on my studies. Three, what I'm hungry for, you guys frown upon so I run off my power and thus I'm not usually hungry food wise. Four, I focus on my studies whenever I don't have someone to fight because it gives me something to do. And five," Hotaru said, holding up each finger on a hand for each point she was making, "I didn't miss my stop—I skipped school."

Luna was utterly shocked. "You _skipped_ school?!"

"Why on Earth did you do that for?" Artemis asked.

"You saw my reason." Hotaru shot back. "He's a complete Bipolar asshole and I always get this weird feeling whenever he's around. Bugs the hell out of me."

"So, this Sasuke boy—where do you know him from?" Artemis asked over Luna's repeated exclamation of "you skipped school," which was being ignored by Hotaru anyway.

"He sits behind Shingo and Shingo sits behind me." Hotaru answered, shouldering her bag better. "We're in the same class. He's either giving me the silent treatment or copping an attitude. Ms. Haruna has tried to switch me around with someone else but the Super Intendant won't let her because I'm the best student Crossroads has and Class A is the best in any year, so I have to stay in Class A of my year."

"Oh, I see. You've told Setsuna, right?" Artemis wondered as Luna started babblingly scolding Hotaru on the importance of doing all her homework, putting her best effort forward and attending all her classes, a lecture she had _never_ given to the Silent Soldier before. _Usagi_, however…

"No, only Makoto. The weird feeling I get when he's around kinda reminds me of the Element of Thunder so I thought maybe Mako would know but she doesn't have a clue. All she knows is that she's been getting a higher charge from me than usual and I've always given her a bit of a boost in energy whenever we're around each other." Hotaru shook her head, making her hair dance and the light play off almost every single strand. It was very pretty to look at but it was all a part of the physical beauty Hotaru held, the superficial appearance that made her an effective weapon because of people underestimating her _because_ of that beauty. "I'd say it had to do something with our planetary closeness and the fact that her Element and my Element are similar in the way they can either be extremely deadly or extremely useful and that they are both storm based, even if mine only takes the form of a maelstorm because it's a feared yet accurate form. However, the fact that Mako said she can actually get a _charge_ off of me is what blows both of those theories to Hell and beyond. I thought it might have been my ability to adapt by incorperating her DNA into mine but I've only had _one_ transfusion from her and just the tiny bit of blood she ends up occasionally bleeding on me in battle wouldn't be enough to kick that genetic ability into affect."

"And then factor in why it only happens around Sasuke." Artemis added, getting a nod. "I can see why you're both lost on this. Maybe Ami and Mamoru could help."

"Mamoru's too busy and Ami's got enough to worry about." Hotaru shook her head again. "I…I called the genetics lab that Infinity Star Enterprises owns and sent them a sample of my blood. According to them, my structure hasn't changed, hasn't acquired any new helixes since my last adaptation and they have the _best_ intergalactic genetics equipment avaliable."

"Leave it to you to make sure your people have the very best." Artemis quipped, thinking about the multinational conglomerate Hotaru had turned her father's labs, Black Star Laboratories, into by the time she had turned 12. She had resurrected Prince Diamond, his people, the Witches 5, certain Animates and a few other bad guys in order to run her company for her from the main branch, the tall tower built on what had been Infinity Academy that was now nicknamed the "Spire."

Looking over the girl's head and towards the business district, Artemis could see the glass-topped tower with the former crest of Infinity Academy, the black star with the gold Infinite Loop, and "ISE" in white across the designs, in the distance. It was one of the tallest buildings in Japan and its little sisters were scattered all over the world, at least 15 in Japan alone. Approaching business like it was war mixed with a chess game, Hotaru had ended up getting a little more than _two-thirds_ of the world under her financal control with the rest of the world none the wiser. And yet, it was _still_ the most honest and philanthropic company in the world while it turned out accumilated profits recorded in the multi-trillions.

And that was just on _Earth_.

Hotaru employed refugees from other stars, giving them places to live and secure jobs so they could begin new and better lives. She had alliances with at least 50 different universes, getting technology, medicine, cloth and God-knew-what else. She rehabilitated prisoners, giving them trust, compassion and second chances without any reservations and they had become model citizens, employees and human beings all over the planet, never resorting back to their old ways. And only very few of her employees ever ruined their second chances. Once they did, they lost _everything_ in something Hotaru referred to as "liquidating."

It was the fear of letting Hotaru down and not the fear of getting everything liquidated that had her employees so damn loyal and working so hard. It was almost like Hotaru was their benevolent god who asked for their best and forgave their most ugliest of faults, thus receiving _more_ than just 110 percent in return. And with the Element of Silence, calling Hotaru a "god" wasn't too far off, according to Setsuna.

"What are you going to do in the mean time?" Artemis inquired, his question getting Luna's attention as well. Hotaru shrugged, her shoulders rising and falling in that familiar graceful feline shrug that was signature to the interplanetary Chimera soldier beside them. "You can't just skip class again. Michiru and Haruka would throw a fit."

"If it wasn't for that damned substitute Hatake, they wouldn't have known." Hotaru didn't stop but the cats did and they were surprised by her admission.

Hotaru Tomoe, the Sacrifical Soldier of Silence, was _knowingly_ breaking the rules?

* * *

O.o Kakshi--Mr. Never On Time--is a substitute?

Damn....

Well, yep, 'Taru skipped school and man, did anyone ELSE feel that temp change other than Artemis and Luna? XD

Please Read and Review and I'll have the next chap up soon!


	2. Request a Favor

Okay, here's chapter 2. I know it looks like it's slow but it builds, honest.

Reviews:

**Black Convoy:** Yeah, I know how that goes but I watch Naruto Shippuden now, so that just about solves the problem! XD

O.o Me, a good author?! Wow....

Uh, okay! On with the show!

* * *

Naruto/Bleach/Sailor Moon

**"Timeless Scarlet Rain"**

(Version Two)

**Chapter 2:**

**-**

**"Request a Favor"**

**-**

"Oh, Hotaru-chan!"

Hotaru stopped and turned back, looking at who had called her name as she passed the staff room. Ms. Haruna was still the principal of Crossroads Middle School but she was also Hotaru's homeroom teacher and Hotaru was her most trusted and valuable student. The woman never went to the class rep for something she needed unless Hotaru wasn't there to ask for assistance from.

"Yes, Ms. Haruna?" Hotaru asked politely, giving the brunette woman a happy smile as she went back to see what the teacher needed. "What can I do for you?"

"I hate to ask this of you but you speak Spanish, right?" Ms. Haruna inquired, looking a bit desperate. If she didn't look so damn worried, Hotaru would have pointed out that she could speak every language on the planet.

"Yes, of course I do. I can speak any variation that's needed." Hotaru reassured with a nod. "What do you need me to do for you? Do you need me to translate something?"

"Uh, no, not quite." Ms. Haruna shook her head, making her now everyday bun shake a bit but not fall out. "You see, we've got a couple exchange students coming in and they speak Japanese but a majority of the time, they speak Spanish. I need you to help them, all right?"

"Sure, I'd be more than happy to help them out in anyway I can." Hotaru replied with a smile and a cheery note in her voice. In reality, all Hotaru wanted to do was go to the roof and then ditch once class was in session. She _so_ didn't want to be in class with _Sasuke_.

"Then I'll have them sit on either side of you, if that's all right. I've already spoke to the pair that sit there and they're fine with it." Ms. Haruna explained, her body relaxing and her stress practically disappearing.

"It's not a problem with me, Ms. Haruna." Hotaru the Perfect Student was always accomidating, always willing to help. The truth was that Hotaru just wanted to be left alone and to act like herself but she couldn't do that without making people suspicious and that annoyed her more than Sasuke _ever_ could. "If there's nothing else, Ms. Haruna, I'd like to get to the classroom to prepare for the day."

"There's just one last thing before you go." Ms. Haruna replied, unknowingly making Hotaru _rather_ impatient. "I'm not going to be here for the rest of the day. I just had to come in to drop off the papers I was grading. There are going to be a couple other teachers out as well. So, there will be substitutes in a few of your classes today, including homeroom."

_Just my luck. Now there's no way I can even fake an excuse to leave._ Hotaru thought with an unhappy growl but her expression was still of a cheery smile. "If they need assistance, I'm more than happy to help them as well."

"Thank you, Hotaru-chan." Ms. Haruna was completely relieved now.

"Not a problem." Hotaru responded with a sweet giggle and a smile. "I'm glad to be of help if I can be. Good luck with whatever's going on and I wish you the best."

Hotaru excused herself and left Ms. Haruna behind. Hotaru mentally hated having to keep up this act but it was easier than having people root around in her personal business. Well, it didn't matter since she could have an outburst later and blame it on feeling overwhelmed and stressed with all she's taken on because she didn't want to let anyone down. It was something she had done before and it had worked. With all she did, it would be expected to be happening again in the near future.

Some time this week seemed like a good prospect.

Drifting up to the third year floor and into her classroom, Hotaru was grateful that Sasuke hadn't arrived yet. He was probably up in the senior high classes. According to the gossip, he had a friend that was a second year, or something like that. Hotaru didn't really pay attention to the gossip and she _really_ didn't care one way or the other.

Hotaru wandered over to her desk and opened her bag, taking out her school books, her needed notebooks, her pencil case and her eye glasses case and putting them in her desk. She fished out her cell phone and put it on "silent" since Minako had gotten into the habit of texting her at the _worst_ possible moments. She dropped her cell back into her bag and then hung her bag on the hooks on the side of her desk, setting the book she had been reading on the train on her desktop.

She settled into her chair and put on her reading glasses. She opened her book to where she had last left off and tried to lose herself in the ink-and-papered knowledge. The time before homeroom was one of the most peaceful and Hotaru enjoyed it because it was always fleeting the rest of the day.

…unfortunately, "fleeting" seemed to be the word of the day.

Hotaru mentally sighed and looked up at Suigetsu Houzuki sitting in the chair of the desk in front of her, his arms folded on the back and his chin resting on his arms until he had lifted his head. She earned another toothy smile, much like the one she had gotten on the train.

"Hi again." He greeted again.

"Don't you have friends in other classes to spend the morning before class with?" Hotaru asked, letting a "you're hopeless" kind of expression cross her face and a matching tone filtering into her voice.

"Yeah but Karrin's being bitchier than normal an' Sasuke's got more than his hands full with Juugo wanting to kill her and her pissy attitude so he doesn't need me there to just get her even bitchier." Suigetsu replied like it was a normal occurance. According to the gossip and the volume Karrin of Class 3-D used on a regular basis, it probably _was_.

"And you didn't go to your own class for _what_ reason?" Hotaru questioned.

"Because nobody I _don't_ wanna kills in there." Suigetsu answered honestly. "An' _you're_ in here all alone. It didn't seem right."

Hotaru was a bit surprised by his admission. She knew Sasuke hung out with _really_…_unique_ people but the fact that Suigetsu wanted to come into _her_ classroom because it didn't seem right that she was alone…_that_ was surprising.

"Well, I don't know what to say to that." Hotaru admitted, blinking at him.

"Meh." Suigetsu shrugged at what she said, propping his elbow on the back of the chair and resting his chin on the heel of his hand. "So, what are ya doin' in here alone?"

"Reading while it's quiet." She responded, closing her book. She wasn't going to get anymore reading done while he was around, _that_ was for sure.

"Where are your friends, those 2 boys and that girl?" So, he knew about Shingo Tsukino, Momoko Momohara and Kyuusuke Sarashina. Not surprising but the fact that he thought they were actually _friends_ meant Hotaru was playing her role as a normal, happy teenager very well.

In truth, Hotaru knew Shingo and Kyuusuke had crushes on her and Momoko was jealous because she liked Kyuusuke but the truth was that Shingo knew Hotaru was a Senshi, Kyuusuke was getting over his crush on Chibi Usa and Momoko hated the fact that Chibi Usa had always invited Hotaru along on anything the normal girl wanted to do. After all, being ever-cheery Chibi Usa's best friend was what Momoko strived for but Hotaru _still_ held that prime position.

"They're not here yet." Hotaru replied. "Shingo won't get here until 10 'till. Kyuusuke and Momoko usually trade off on which one's gonna be cutting it the closest."

"An' ya take the earliest train to school so ya get here at least 30 minutes before the bell rings but that leaves ya alone. That ain't right." Suigetsu commented. "They should get here earlier, too. That way ya wouldn't be alone."

"They don't live in another district." Hotaru pointed out. "They don't have to catch the only train that comes this way _before_ class starts."

"But it's still no excuse." Suigetsu gave her a slight put off look. "An' ya shouldn't defend them. Momohara looks at ya like she'd be better off with ya outta the picture an' Sarashina reeks of desperation. An' that Tsukino's got this idea like ya can't protect yourself, like you're a fragile li'l thing and need a guy to protect ya."

"And you think he's wrong?" Hotaru said like she wasn't sure he was right.

"Hell, I _know_ he's wrong. Ya don't need anyone to protect ya, not like you're a damsel in distress. I've seen girls swoon over Sasuke but ya don't even give him a second thought or even a _first_. Ya take his attitude, his glares—all of his threats like they're nothing, when he's sent _macho guys_ runnin' for their lives." Suigetsu snorted. "An' _nobody_ can get _Juugo_ to calm down from just their _presence_. Ya just have to stand in the same room as him an' all his murderous urges go right out the window. An' there's the fact that you've never backed down when those bastard punks come around."

"I'm not afraid of them _or_ Uchiha." Hotaru replied simply. "I have no reason to be."

"Yeah, an' that's why ya ain't what Tsukino assumes." Suigetsu shot back. "For some reason, you're this happy li'l thing but nobody messes with ya. Ya got the assholes in some of the other districts _terrified_ of ya an' it has _nothin'_ to do with the way you talk your way out of everything. Ya ain't a princess in some tower—you're totally fakin' it. I'm sure of it."

"They're not afraid of _me_, as much as they're afraid of my foster big sister and one of my legal guardians. Makoto and Haruka threaten anyone within an inch of their lives when it comes to me so it's more of what'll happen to those guys if they hurt me, than it is me."

"An' _that_ would be what anyone with enough brains would call 'bullshit'." Suigetsu shot back, semi surprising Hotaru. "An' ya know how I know that?"

"Okay, how do you know that?" Hotaru asked, since he wanted her to.

"'Cuz of the way ya blew up a while back." Suigetsu said simply. "That way ya detonated back then was a glimpse at the _real you_, the _you_ that ya hide. Let me tell ya, that real you's a whole helluva lot sexier than this Goodie-Two-Shoes routine you've got goin'."

So, Suigetsu had seen her "episode" that she had had and he was right but Hotaru was surprised that he put two and two together. It wasn't that she thought Suigetsu was stupid. It was more like not everybody would have noticed it somehow, for some reason, _he_ had.

"What makes you think it was the 'real me'? It was mostly stress, to be honest." Hotaru responded, interweaving her fingers and resting her chin on top.

"Ya say that but I know different." Suigetsu remarked, standing up with one knee on the seat of the chair. He leaned forward until there were only a few inches between them. It was so terribly intimate but it was also part intimidation. If she leaned away, Suigetsu would have a victory over her. It would be small but it was a victory none the less and that would mean she'd have to submit, as he was her better.

Needless to say, he wasn't getting even that small victory.

All he had to do was close that distance and he'd be able to steal a kiss. Of course, Hotaru was prepared for that and her reflexes put many to shame. She'd be able to keep him from stealing a kiss from her no problem.

"When ya say it's just the stress, I still think that's total bullshit." Suigetsu murmured to her, his purple eyes staring into hers.

"And _I_ think you're in the wrong homeroom, Houzuki."

Suigetsu's flirtacious expression melted into a dark scowl as he looked over his shoulder at the speaker. Hotaru already knew who it was the moment he had said the first word and _God_—if it wasn't that pain in the ass rat Kakashi Hatake. Why the _hell_ did she have to have _him_ as a substitute homeroom teacher _again_?

"Can't ya see I'm _talkin'_ with the pretty lady?" Suigetsu asked of the silver haired teacher with a slight sneer. "It's pretty damn rude to easedrop an' interupt."

"Homeroom, Houzuki. _Now_." Kakashi ordered firmly, pointing towards the classroom door. "Or you'll be reporting to the assistant principal before classes even have hope of beginning."

"If Sasuke hadn't told me not to cause a scene here, I'd kill ya without a second thought." Suigetsu shot back with a bit of a growl, then a murderous smirk curved his lips, exposing more of the fang that already peeked out of his mouth. "Then again, there's always the walk _home_."

Hotaru's fingers tensed, the miniscule movement getting Suigetsu's attention, his eyes shooting to the edge of his sockets to look at her. He had good eyes, she'd give him that.

"Y'know, ya tensed up like that on the train just before--"

"Suigetsu, what are you doing?" Sasuke asked, a bit annoyed. Suigetsu looked over his other shoulder at Sasuke, the murderous intent gone.

"I was talkin' to Tomoe before _he_ interupted." Suigetsu answered honestly. "Apparently, I can't even do _that_ without gettin' _them_ on my ass." His eyes flicked to Sasuke's arm. "You're doin' it again. If ya keep that up, Karrin really _is_ gonna jump your bones the next time you're unconscious."

"You keep oversharing like that and you're not going to like the consequences." Sasuke half snapped at the other boy. Hotaru snorted softly and pulled her hands apart to rest her chin on the heel of her right hand. "You got a problem with me, Tomoe?"

"As I said on the train, it's called 'common sense.' If you actually _had_ any, you would have noticed that Karrin would basically rape you repeatedly if you _ever_ let down your guard around her." Hotaru shot back as Sasuke started walking down their aisle to his desk. "You think your biggest problem at this school is some crazed, dellusional fangirl when, in reality, it's the equally Bipolar basket case that follows you around. If you're not careful, Uchiha, you're going to find yourself in a _very_ prone position with _her_ on _top_."

"You projecting some of your own fantasies, Tomoe?" Sasuke fired off in return.

"You _wish_, Uchiha, but mercifully, I have never been nor shall I _ever_ be a Sasuke fangirl. Unlike those hormonal-ruled airheads, I have _more_ important things to be concerned over." Hotaru quipped without missing a beat. "And _thankfully_, none of them concern _you_, which is a plus in _my_ book, since you're an insufferable _ass_ but then again, it's apparently just _me_ who holds such an enlightened opinion."

"You act like this and you call _me_ 'Bipolar'?" Sasuke snorted as he passed her. "Seems _you're_ the one who's Bipolar."

"Hey, don't blame me for what _you_ started. You're the one who put me in a mood by attempting to manhandle me on the train just because of a little static electricity." Hotaru retorted idly. "Personally, I _prefer_ it when you ignore me. It makes _my_ day move along without any problems. So, if you wouldn't mind, do go back to pretending I'm not here. I'm getting _awfully_ tired of listening to you bitch, Emo Boy."

Sasuke stopped, telling Hotaru she had hit a nerve. So, Sasuke Uchiha didn't like to be called "Emo," did he?

Well, then…

"Man, you're _seriously_ not afraid of him, are ya?" Suigetsu muttered as Hotaru returned her attention to him. He looked both impressed and surprised.

"No, I'm not. Why should I be?" Hotaru asked in return. "He's got a bad attitude. That's all. It's nothing to be afraid of, not when I've had to handle worse. Then again, I wasn't programmed to feel fear so I suppose it's more of a moot point than anything."

Suigetsu got that flirtacious look again, a gentler smirk curving his lips. "So, if ya ain't afraid of _him_, how about goin' out on a date with _me_?"

Kakashi suddenly seized the purple eyed boy by the back of his nehru jacket and pulled him off Hotaru's desk and the chair ahead of her, making Suigetsu stumble to catch himself and avoid falling out of his jacket. From the way even his shirt was falling, Hotaru suspected Kakashi had managed to grab the back of his shirt as well.

"I believe I told you to return to your homeroom, Houzuki." Kakashi said firmly, half directing, half towing the boy out of the classroom backwards. Suigetsu looked honestly startled by the action but even more startled by Kakashi half tossing him out into the hall, pointing towards 3-C. "Homeroom—_now_, Houzuki."

"Fine, fine. I'm goin'. I'm goin'." Suigetsu shot back. Kakashi turned away from the door and headed towards the desk. Suigetsu took this opportunity to poke his head back into the classroom and look at Hotaru with a grin. "I'll come back at lunch to get your answer, 'kay?"

Kakashi threw whatever schoolbook in his hand at the boy, making Suigetsu pull back from the door and move down the hall as Kakashi went to retrieve his text projectile. The sight made Hotaru laugh softly, hiding behind her hand. Half way down the hall, Suigetsu saw it through the door on the other end of the classroom and smirked triumphantly to himself, putting his arms behind his head as he casually strolled to class.

"Can't you _do_ something about him?" Kakashi asked, not of Hotaru, but of Sasuke in his seat 2 desks behind her.

"What would you like me to do," Sasuke shot back, "when I'm no longer one of _you_ to begin with? That's the way he is and as long as he stays that way, it benefits me and what I have planned, so it would be counterproductive for him to change, now wouldn't it?"

"My God." Hotaru said, feigning surprise and a gasp. "Uchiha _actually_ has a couple brain cells. Who knew?"

Kakashi snorted at that one and Sasuke growled "fuck you, Tomoe" under his breath, which got Hotaru to smirk idly. She had gotten under his skin, like he had gotten under hers earlier. It was only right to enact a type of revenge and having them bicker like this _was_ perfectly normal. After all, they usually set the tone for the day between them before Ms. Haruna entered the room but it usually consisted of them either both ignoring one another or Sasuke copping an attitude and Hotaru just ignoring him.

Hotaru had to admit, fighting back like that _far_ more satisfying. Especially when it got the _teacher_ to snort in amusement.

* * *

Yeeeah, this is going to be interesting.

So much for Sasuke being a chick magnet if he can't even get Firefly to crush on him! XDD

My friend, who beta reads for me, says they act like an old married couple!! XDD

Please Read and Review!!!!


	3. Imports, Trouble and More

I know, I know--I'm overdue--WAY overdue! But looking for work and the holidays--plus babysitting--REALLY makes it hard to get past one's writer's block.

This is a continuation of the previous chapter, like the one before. I know, slow but like I said, it builds--promise.

So, for your reading pleasure....

* * *

Naruto/Bleach/Sailor Moon

**"Timeless Scarlet Rain"**

(Version Two)

**Chapter 3:**

**-**

**"Imports, Trouble and More"**

**-**

It was barely 10 minutes before homeroom started and most of the students had filed in, taking their seats but still chattering away. Hotaru had gone back to her book and Sasuke was working on something behind her, hearing his mechanical pencil scratching on notebook paper. Kakashi was busy writing something on the board, the _tick-tick-tick_ of the chalk mingling with the chatter. It was no surprise that Shingo's entrance into the classroom went unnoticed except for a couple obligitory glances by those who had their attention momentarily on the door.

Shingo managed to slip around other students on the way to his desk and sat in his chair behind Hotaru without a problem. Hotaru knew he was there, as he settled into his desk and got ready for the lessons to come, but she didn't turn around and greet him, attempting to tune out most of the fangirl giggling from her fellow 3-A female students.

"Good morning, Hotaru." Shingo greeted, tapping her on the shoulder. Hotaru turned part way in her seat and gave him a cheery smile.

"Good morning, Shingo. Sorry, I didn't notice you came in. My book just swept me away." Hotaru lied with a soft innocent giggle. Shingo, as always, just sighed softly and shook his head.

"If you weren't reading something that would benefit your future, I'd swear you were as bad as Usagi." Shingo told Hotaru, scooting his chair up closer to his desk. "But then again, you do have the best grades in school, with your perfect 4.0 GPA still intact for another year."

"What can I say?" Hotaru giggled a little sheepishly with a cute little shrug. "I love to learn something new. It just kinda calls to me."

"Forget what I said about you being like Usagi—you're more like _Ami_." Shingo shook his head at Hotaru's cheery false admission. Hotaru mentally wondered how stupid could the third best student in class could be if he was _still_ believing her "Goodie-Two-Shoes Routine," as Suigetsu called it, after all these years when he knew what she was capable of.

Can you say "gullible"?

"Hey, Hotaru—who are _those_ guys?" Shingo asked, nodding towards the front of the classroom. Hotaru turned to see who he was talking about and for some reason, was _very_ surprised by who stood by Kakashi at the board.

Unlike the teacher in his late 20s dressed in a medical mask, eye patch, shirt, slacks and tie, these two boys didn't look _weird_, despite being 2 different heights. They looked _exotic_ and their very presence called out to something dark deep inside her and to her panther blood. They weren't human—they couldn't be, not with _those_ reactions Hotaru was experiencing.

The taller boy was quite literally a _punk_ by definition, his nehru jacket open to show off the light blue tank top underneath and the sleeves rolled up to his biceps. He had sky blue hair in a reckless yet hip style and light blue eyes accented with aqua marking that made them look a bit on the feline side. He stood with a slight aggressive curve to his spine, one that said he wouldn't hesitate to ram his fist through someone's face, and he definitely had the muscle to back it up, in a svelt jungle cat sort of way. He moved like a big, graceful predator who _loved_ to play with its food before ripping it up.

The shorter boy had long black hair in slightly messy style that gave way to a braid and gold eyes that held a feral intelligence and strength. He wore his nehru jacket open as well, the sleeves only rolled up half way up his forearms for comfort, and had a grey shirt on underneath. He also had the svelt jungle cat muscle, though he was slimmer than his taller friend. He stood like he would take orders from someone worthy enough to give them and he was definitely a big predator in his own right who only toyed with his food when it suited him.

And both were _definitely_ not from around here.

"I think those are the 2 exchange students I'm supposed to be assisting." Hotaru asnwered, getting Shingo to mutter "what…?" under his breath in shock and minor jealousy. "Ms. Haruna didn't say they were boys but then again, she didn't say they weren't either. So, I guess that the fact they're both the same gender shouldn't be all that shocking, even if I am just a little."

"Man, you can rationalize the weirdest stuff, can't you?" Shingo shot back, getting a giggle and a shrug from Hotaru in return. "You are _definitely_ an Ami clone, I swear to God."

"Tomoe." Kakashi called over to the Arithian girl, getting her attention. "Come over here for a sec, if you would."

"I'll be right back, Shingo." Hotaru excused herself as she rose from her seat. She walked up to the teacher's desk with a polite, helpful smile, when she would rather strangle the masked bastard for ratting her out. "What may I do to be of assistance, Mr. Hatake?"

Kakashi gave her a slightly cycloped evaluating look, like he suspected that this cheery helpful Hotaru was an act. If he only knew…

"Ms. Haruna left me a note saying that you'd help out the exchange students from Spain. Is this all right with you?" Kakashi asked, jerking his thumb lightly at the two boys looking at her skeptically. "I mean, having both of them depend on you? If it's too much, I'll call the district office for a translator."

Hotaru's shoulders slightly rounded and she gave him a put off look. "Are you insinuating that I'm unable to preform the duties I've already reassured Ms. Haruna that I'd preform for her, Mr. Hatake? If you are, I must admit that I find that highly insulting since Ms. Haruna believes and trusts in my abilities enough to leave two new students in my care. Since the _principal_ understands that I will preform needed duties to the best of my abilities, shouldn't _you_ allow me to preform those duties instead of the innuendo of incapability you're sending my direction?"

Kakashi just blinked at her in a caught-off-guard manner as her now silent classmates started snickering and giggling at his expression. "You're…you're, uh…"

"I'm, uh, _what_, Mr. Hatake?" Hotaru questioned, arching an eyebrow and crossing her arms beneath her bust. Kakashi stumbled over trying to form another sentence but Hotaru didn't wait for him to form it completely. "I'll have you know that I don't _have_ to come to school. I could _just_ as easily skip and still maintain my 4.0 and straight A pluses. I'm so far ahead in all subjects that I actually spend most of my day in the library or preforming the duties of a teacher's aide. _Just_ because I'm a girl and _just_ because I'm of a petite stature does _not_ mean I cannot do what is required of me."

"I, uh, I was more concerned with your breathing condition." Kakashi said, surprising Hotaru completely. Her fellow students suddenly dropped into a tense silence, prepared for what was coming next.

Hotaru dropped her arms and narrowed her eyes at Kakashi, her voice dropping to a cooler octave. "And just _how_ the hell does a _substitute_ know about something that hasn't been a problem for me since elementary school, hm? You been 'keeping' yourself 'appraised' on your students 'however temporary' again, like when you called Haruka and Michiru when I didn't come to class that one day?"

"Ahead or not, you should always attend class." Kakashi said in his own defense, semi startled by her change in attitude.

"For future reference, there's no _real_ reason for me to be here because I'm already _2_ units ahead. Ms. Haruna and my other teachers let me know when I have an exam and when there's a lecture so I can be here for those but otherwise, they don't care whether I come to school or not and if I'm not in the classroom but I'm at school, I'm _usually_ in the library, in the medical section." Hotaru responded cooly, icily. "I'm 15 and I put _university_ students to shame, so don't you _dare_ treat me any less than what I have earned."

"Oooh, I like her." The sky blue haired punk muttered to his companion. "This kitten's definitely got claws, a totally wild cat."

Kakashi cleared his throat and coughed a couple times into his hand to recover. "So, you _can_ handle the two of them?"

Could she handle _two boys_ when she was designed to take down whole _planets_ the size of _Jupiter_ on a daily basis? Hotaru just gave Kakashi cool, empty eyes. "I'm sure I can manage two boys my age when I have to manage a gaggle of still-pubesant 20 plus-year-olds on a regular basis."

"_I'm_ on her right." The punk said to his friend, getting a look.

"Fine, she's right handed." The other boy said idly.

"Actually, I'm amnidextrious." Hotaru replied turning away from Kakashi and looking at the two boys. "If you'll both take your seats, you won't get slammed into by anyone running late when they come running in."

"Lead the way, Wild Cat." The taller boy said with a smirk.

Hotaru headed to her desk, the two exchange students falling into step behind her. She stopped at her desk and then touched the desk to her left. "This seat and that seat," Hotaru pointed to the desk that was to her right in the next aisle, "have been requested for you two to sit in. That way, it'll be easy for me to help you both at the same time. Ms. Haruna made sure that I would be able you both to the best of my ability."

"Logical." The shorter boy replied. He took the left seat and the taller boy slipped past the chair in front of Hotaru's desk to get to the other desk. Hotaru barely sat in her chair when Sasuke passed her and grabbed her bicep, pulling her out of her chair.

"Uchiha—let go of me!" Hotaru half ordered as Sasuke towed her out of the classroom.

"Sasuke, what are--" Kakashi called after Sasuke who didn't pay him a glance, pulling Hotaru down the hall. Kakashi came to the door and half hung out it. "Sasuke! What the _hell_ are you doing?! Bring her back here or you're not going to like the consequences! Hurt her and you'll _really_ fuck yourself over!"

Sasuke shot Kakashi a dark look as Hotaru gave the teacher a weird look, trying to figure out why he was threatening a student with heated anger and true concern in his voice. Hotaru saw Kakashi looked shocked, making Hotaru look at Sasuke. He was facing forward again and gave her a sharp jerk as he moved forward again.

"…shit." Hotaru heard Kakashi curse. She only caught a glimpse of Kakashi running into one of the other classes across the hall.

Sasuke's grip tightened his grip on her bicep and jerked her arm to make her go faster. Hotaru's skin felt like it was crawling and it was sinking deeper and deeper into her bones. She didn't like this feeling. She wanted to know what it was and why it was happening to her.

"Sasuke Uchiha—let go of me this instant or I will be forced to deal you some severe damage to your person!" Hotaru warned, only getting Sasuke to jerk her forward and nearly miss the next step. "If you keep that up, I'm gonna fall!"

Sasuke just jerked her forward and Hotaru's indoor shoe missed the next step, throwing her forward. She fell passed Sasuke, surprising him completely, and her arm slipped through his hand, her fingers sliding through his.

"…Damn…" Sasuke hissed, crouching with one of his feet on the front of a stair. He looked like he was about to launch himself off the stair but his eyes moved passed her as Hotaru fell into someone's arms, making them wrap their arms around her and take a step back to catch themself with the transferred momentum.

"Easy now." A voice chuckled, making Hotaru look up at who had caught her. He had brown eyes and long white hair pulled into a ponytail at the base of his skull, a smile on his lips. "You have to be careful on the stairs. If you hurry carelessly, there's a greater chance that you'll get hurt."

Hotaru just looked at him innocently. "You feel funny."

That caught both the man and Sasuke off guard. The man just looked down at her with a chuckle, recovering.

"I feel funny? Really?" He seemed amused by her response.

"Yeah, like Papa did before those weird things with the holes in their chests came into his lab." Hotaru's answer _really_ caught the man off guard.

He helped Hotaru to her feet and then turned her to look at him, his hands on her shoulders, stooping a little to be eye level with her. "When did those things come to his lab?"

"I was about 5, I think." Hotaru answered honestly.

"Do you remember how they got _into_ your father's lab?" He asked.

"Yeah, of course I do. It was a dimensional rift that resembled slats of wood being separated at the seam." Hotaru nodded, not sure why he was interested in that.

"Did _any_ of those things with the holes get to you?" He questioned.

"They would have if Papa hadn't stood in their way. They seemed real scared of that _sword_ Papa kept in his office area. I don't know why." Hotaru responded, not sure why it mattered. "I mean, the guy in white that usually hung around it was really nice. He used to tell me stories to keep me busy when Papa was doing an experiment."

"A guy in white?" He repeated surprised. "What did he look like?"

What did he look like? Hotaru had to give it some thought. She hadn't seen him after while when she was little, after all.

"Uh, a white kimono and off white hakama, a light blue obi, white tabi, _geta_ with light blue straps and a white kimono with a pale blue lining." Hotaru answered, really having to think back. "His hair was really long, if I remember correctly. It was white and he kept it braided under the light blue wrap it was under. It was usually draped down his shoulder front. He had blue eyes like Papa did and he had these gold dangles hanging from his ears. And he had this blue thing on his forehead. I think it was a blue diamond just stamped onto his forehead. He wore a white hat with light blue hem and tassals that reached his elbows. And he usually looked at me like I was his favorite person in the world."

"What was this man's name?" The man asked of her. "Do you remember his name?"

"Uhh…." Hotaru tried to think, trying to think if the man had said his name. "I…I don't remember, sorry. He might have said it but I can't remember what it is. I was a little kid."

"It's all right. What you've given me is plenty. I'll be able to find out with the description." The man reassured her. Hotaru was minorly annoyed by the pat on the head. "Here, for all the trouble I caused."

He took a small bag of candy from _somewhere_ from his jacket's inside pockets and gave it to Hotaru with a smile. He patted her on the head again with a smile and a chuckle. Hotaru looked at the bag in her hands and then up at the man as he passed Sasuke, patting him on the shoulder. Sasuke looked at her and jerked his thumb at the man that was on the next set of stairs upward.

"What was _that_ about?" Sasuke asked.

"I…I don't know." Hotaru admitted, trying to think why she just told a complete_ stranger_ about that man in her father's laboratory office space. She had _never_ told anyone about him before, though she had drawn him in the past…for a couple class assignments when she was younger. "I…I'm going to have to go through my records and find those pictures…maybe his name is on one of them…"

"What kind of guy asks a whole bunch of weird questions, pats a teenager on the head and gives her a bag of candy for her 'trouble'?" Sasuke half demanded suspiciously, looking at Hotaru like he expected her to know for sure.

"No idea, honest. I'm just as clueless as you are on this one." Hotaru remarked, a bit annoyed herself…then her attention went back to the bag of candy. "Though…he kinda reminds me of that penny candy shop guy and his staff…an' that weird black cat of his that followed me all the way to the Crown Arcade the other day."

"You go to the _weirdest_ places, you know that?" Sasuke remarked, leaning his shoulder against the side of the stair well. "The Crown Arcade's only got those old arcade games and they can barely afford their two employees as it is."

"Motoki and Unazuki's family _owns_ the arcade _and_ the attached café." Hotaru scolded a bit pointedly. "And I don't go there for the games. I do my homework in the café on occasion because they've got excellent summer peach tea. Just because _you_ don't think business isn't going well doesn't mean that you shouldn't keep such assumptions to yourself, Uchiha."

Before Sasuke could respond, Kakashi came down the stairs with one of the _other_ familiar substitute teachers, Iruka Umino. Iruka was a bit of a push over compared to Kakashi and he was someone who'd fair better with the younger middle school and elementary school kids than the 3rd years of middle school but that was none of Hotaru's business. He dressed like Kakashi did—dress shirt, tie and slacks. His collar was unbuttoned already and loosened a little with his sleeves rolled up, most likely to keep them from getting dusty from all the chalk. He seemed to really like the blackboard.

"You're in _big_ trouble this time, Sasuke." Kakashi told the black haired boy, grabbing his bicep and pulling him off the stairs. Iruka put his hands on Hotaru's shoulders and pulled her to the side, out of the way of an unhappy substitute homeroom teacher and his tow along.

"Are you all right, Tomoe?" Iruka asked, gently turning Hotaru to face him. "Sasuke didn't hurt you, did he?"

"No, Mr. Umino." Hotaru answered honestly.

"He didn't say anything to you that struck you as odd or do something that looked out of place, like tell you to look into his eyes and his eyes looked weird?" Iruka questioned, making Hotaru feel both suspicious and a bit lost but she settled for an innocently confused expression. "Nothing like that?"

"No, nothing like that, Mr. Umino, really." Hotaru replied. "He probably wanted to talk about what happened on the train in private, though I'm not sure why a case of static electricity would require privacy. I mean, he's been tweaky since Houzuki came to sit next to me on the train and he had to come after him this morning. Though, he _was_ jerking me around by my arm. I should only get a light bruise from it, since I'm wearing two layers."

"Well, if it starts giving you trouble, have the nurse look at it, all right?" Iruka earned a dutiful nod. "Then get back to your homeroom, Tomoe. Your two new classmates are waiting for you."

"Thank you, Mr. Umino." Hotaru gave him a polite bow, having to step back first, and then hustled back up the stairs. She wasn't going to be worried about Sasuke. If she could get through the rest of the day without him bothering her, then she was going to be _estatic_.

However, if he tried something, Hotaru was going to kick his ass.

* * *

**Sasuke:** Like she could beat me.

Don't say stuff like that, Sasuke. It's not a good way to start a series.

**Sasuke:** Is that right?

Yeah--since the story's writing itself and I have LITTLE control over it. Understand?

Well, while I handle THIS idiot...

Please Read and Review.


	4. Vague Note, Eerie Reminder

This is a reward for putting up with me and my writer's block.

Chapter 4, if you please.

For you, my readers.

* * *

Naruto/Bleach/Sailor Moon

**"Timeless Scarlet Rain"**

(Version Two)

**Chapter 4:**

**-**

**"Vague Note, Eerie Reminder"**

**-**

"Hey, Wild Cat, where'd that loser take ya?" The punkish student said as Hotaru entered the classroom and came to her desk. The smaller boy was leaning against her desk, apparently talking to the punk boy while she was gone.

"Never mind that." Hotaru dismissed lightly. "I've been incredibly rude. I haven't asked either of you your names." She gave them a polite bow. "My name is Hotaru Tomoe. It's a pleasure to meet you both."

"I'm Grimmjow Jaggerjaques an' tha's Ggio Vega." The punk jerked his thumb at the other boy, who gave Hotaru a cute little wave and a smile. "An' we think ya coulda taken 'im."

"I know a couple years of self-defense and that's about it." Hotaru lied with an innocently sheepish blush and trying to wave the subject away. "There's no possible way I could have taken Uchiha. He's been learning ninjitsu his whole life. There's no way I could have even gotten the upper hand."

Grimmjow and Ggio exchanged a look then looked at Hotaru. "If ya say so, Wild Cat."

"What, you don't believe me?" Hotaru asked, pretending to be innocently surprised and a little hurt. "Makoto taught me just enough to protect myself."

"You don't get _that_ body from just knowing a couple years of self defense." Ggio repiled, making Hotaru instantly suspicious but she didn't show it.

Hotaru just gave a cute little shrug. "Good genetics, I suppose."

Ggio and Grimmjow exchanged another look, like they knew differently but they were going to humor her and play along. "If you say so."

"Yeah, whatever ya say, Wild Cat." Grimmjow placated.

Hotaru couldn't stop the minor flare of annoyance and it apparently flashed through her eyes, getting both boys' attention. "Don't placate me. It's something I have _little_ patience for."

"Yes, ma'am." Grimmjow muttered as a girl came up and tugged on Hotaru's sleeve.

Hotaru turned to look at the other girl and was mildly surprised to see a first year middle school student standing behind her. She took a folded piece of paper from her pocket and held it out for Hotaru to take. Hotaru looked at the girls chestnut brown hair in a pair of braids with her warm ocean blue eyes, knowing this girl from somewhere.

"I was told to give this to you, Sempai." The girl said politely. "The man who gave it to me to pass on to you said that you had to receive it during homeroom at this time. I don't know anything more than that and he wouldn't answer me when I asked him why it had to be at this time and not between classes."

"Oh, thank you." Hotaru accepted the folded piece of paper and saw the faint burn scar on her wrist, just under the cuff of her sweater.

Oh, she was one of the Odachi Complex victims, the one Hotaru had save just a couple years ago from that horrible fire. Hotaru had ran back inside despite Rei telling her to wait for her to subdue the flames and there had been a little girl named Miki that had been badly burned on her arm, trapped in her room. Hotaru had to use the Divinity Blade to slice through burning walls and doors to get to her, Miki's pure heart crystal calling out to her.

Hotaru's back faintly ached at the memory of the section of the ceiling that had gave way and fallen on her, nearly breaking her back but forcing her fuku to nearly unravel completely right in front of Miki. A section of the same ceiling had landed on Miki's arm and Hotaru shoved the piece that pinned her aside to get it off before Miki's own flesh and pajamas caught on fire. Hotaru had then taken off her gloves and used them with a torn length of her skirt to do a quick field bandage before picking Miki up and carrying her out of the building.

They had had to go up on a higher floor, where they were quickly trapped. The fire had struck Hotaru weird back then and whenever she thought of the fire, the flames had _definitely_ been behaving more like they were controlled and wasn't a natural burn or even arson. Working with Rei had taught her the difference and Hotaru had been forced to put Miki on her feet before literal smashing through a wall with her bare fist, taking out a huge portion of the wall and part of the wall of the floor below, above and to either side and splitting her flesh bad enough to expose the bone and musle underneath.

Hotaru had then felt another person in the fire but unlike Miki's pure heart crystal, this mysterious person's hadn't been scared or worried. It knew it was safe and…and that had also bothered Hotaru but Miki's safety had had to come first before whoever it had been. When the firemen on the cherry picker attached to a ladder came up to the hole Hotaru had made, Hotaru had picked up Miki, given her a comforting kiss on the cheek and then had passed her to the fireman who had come up to get them.

As soon as Miki was clear, Hotaru had turned and looked at who was standing amid the flames. They had thrown something at her, a knife that bit into the ground with a piece of paper attached to it, burning like a fuse. The paper had suddenly exploded and sent Hotaru literally _flying_ out of the apartment building, crashing into the balcony of another apartment building before dropping to the ground, Hotaru barely managing to land on her feet before collapsing.

Oh, yeah—the damn almost-month of _healing_ afterwards had been so much _fun_.

"You know, I've been meaning to look in on you and your family." Hotaru said, seeing the recognition flicker in Miki's eyes. "I haven't had time with all my studying. I hope you're all doing well."

"Yeah, we're totally fine!" Miki replied with a bright smile. She remembered Hotaru now. She had seen a piece of Hotaru's uniform when she had nearly lost her fuku. It would have been easy for a smart girl like Miki to put two and two together. "I did my absolute best just to come to this school 'cuz I recognized the uniform from one of the neighbors' daughter went here! I knew I jus' _had_ to come here so I could see you again! I had almost given up hope, thinkin' you had advanced already!"

"I'll let you in on a secret." Hotaru gently tapped the end of Miki's nose. "I was the same year as you when that happened."

"Really?" Miki gasped, getting a nod. "Tha's _sooo_ cool! You were _totally_ fearless!"

Hotaru crouched a little be more eye level with Miki. "Actually, I was _terrified_ that I'd be burned alive back there. I didn't want to go back in but then I heard someone calling for help and I went back in because someone needed my help more than I didn't want to go back in."

"You were scared? Really?" Miki asked softly, getting another nod.

"Courage isn't the absence of fear, little one, but rather, the strength that one has to face that fear and momentarily push it aside to get done what needs to be done, whether it's to stand up against a bully for themselves or whether it's to go back and risk your life for someone who needs your help." Hotaru told Miki, getting an awed but understanding expression. "_That_ is courage. Don't let _anyone_ tell you otherwise, all right?"

"Yes, ma'am!" Miki gave Hotaru a cute salute and then a tight hug around the Senshi of Silence's waist. When she spoke again, her words were so soft. "I don't care what anyone else says. You're not a monster. To me, you're angel from God an' I'm gonna work hard to honor your example 'cuz God sent you to us to give us hope for a better tomorrow. I always wanted to tell you that if I got to see you again."

Miki's words shocked Hotaru, hitting her straight to the metaphorical heart, as Miki pulled back, gave Hotaru a polite underclassman bow and ran out of the classroom. Hotaru just _stood_ there, absolutely _stunned_.

People thought…she was a monster…?

"…but I'd never hurt anyone on this star…" Hotaru mumbled in her shock. She _wasn't_ a monster…was she?

"You okay, Tomoe?" A female classmate asked gently, putting her hand on Hotaru's arm and bringing Hotaru back to Earth.

Hotaru looked at her. "Someons called me a monster, Kushina…"

"It was probably that bitch Karrin in the other class." Kushina reassured kindly. "She doesn't like anybody but you walk by and Sasuke looks. He can find you no problem and you don't even like him. It's gotta get under her skin, especially since he doesn't like her an' she can't take a hint."

"Yeah, I suppose…." Hotaru mumbled, feeling a bit sick to her stomach. Who would call her a monster when she had always tried to help mankind?

She turned and sat back in her seat, setting the bag of candy on her desk with the note. Ggio was now leaning against Grimmjow's desk. She kind of felt like curling up and making it rain so she could go up to the roof and cry without anyone noticing. It _hurt_ on _so_ many levels to be called a monster when she had _always_ done more than her best to protect the Earth and its people.

"It shouldn't matter if someone thinks you're a monster." Ggio said, getting Hotaru to look at him. "If someone sees you as a monster, then they're looking at you and projecting themselves onto you, thereby not seeing you for you but for what they truly are. It's that simple."

"Whoa…look at those clouds." A male classmate whistled, looking out the window with his friends. "They weren't there a minute ago an' they look like they're getting ready to tear open."

Great…Haruka wasn't going to be happy when Hotaru got home. Ever since they got back from the Cauldron, Hotaru had been able to mess with the weather. Her moods were often reflected in the weather as if she was tied to the Earth itself. She made it rain when she wanted to cry, thunderheads brew when she was mad, the wind picked up and blew when she got annoyed and rainbows could be seen when she was happy.

Mamoru said it was a _cute_ talent she had, since he could look out the window and know how she was feeling. He, needless to say, liked it when she had been in a bad mood and then something cheered it up, if only because he knew she was finally smiling.

"Ain't ya gonna open it?" Grimmjow asked, his arms behind his head and leaning back in his chair. Hotaru looked up him and he flicked his eyes at the note. "It could be important."

Hotaru looked back at the note on her desk. _Important…right…_

She picked up the note and unfolded it, finding only a simple message written in ball point ink in the middle of the white piece of binder paper. The message kind of struck her as odd as it wasn't signed nor was it addressed to her but it was so clear and yet confusing at the same time.

_**THEN, HE WAS ABOVE US BOTH.**_

_**NOW, HE IS ABOVE US ALL.**_

_**NORIYEIGA'S BAR**_

_**6:00 TONIGHT**_

_**SNEAK OUT. COME ALONE. TELL NO ONE.**_

Well, _that_ was as clear as mud. Hotaru knew of Noriyeiga's Bar. It was in a seedier part of town, where the more Westernized gangsters were based. It would be too dangerous to go there but somehow, she didn't feel like she had much of a choice. If she got caught there, she could get in trouble with school and if she used her powers without transforming, she would catch Hell for not being on patrol.

Maybe it was time to…no, it was damn near suicide to go into a situation like this totally blind. She wouldn't go as Hotaru. She'd go on patrol early and stake the place out, hiding within the shadows with her Element. She'd find out who wanted to meet her so badly and then she'd dig up some dirt on them to get an idea of what she was going to be dealing with.

So much for the "ordinary life" she was supposed to be living. Everything was becoming like one of those American Hollywood movies, twists at every turn and new characters with vague messages meeting in shady bars…Father Star, it was so damn _cliché_ that Hotaru was beginning to wonder if she was still on the right planet.

…_Sneak out. Come alone. Tell no one…_

"Yeah, like _that's_ ever gonna happen." Hotaru muttered to herself, looking at the _perfect_ square of white paper. It was practically _begging_ for her to use it for origami. Hotaru sighed softly and started folding it up, her choice coming to life crease by crease. Soon, she set a stark white crane on the corner of her desk. "Well, here's to luck that the rest of my day won't be like an American cliché."

Looking at the crane, Hotaru was reminded of that man in white from her father's office space of the lab under her childhood home. He had made her countless cranes and she had had them all over her room as a child. She loved each one he had made her, like all the stories he had told her when she was a child about a powerful swordsman that was one of the best in the world who only traveled with the one person he trusted above all others. She loved hearing his voice, that comforting timber. It had put her at ease when she was restless, anxious or scared, reminding her even years later of her father's voice, their voices almost identical.

"…Shiro Satoru…"Hotaru murmured under her breath, a soft smile on her face as she made the crane flap its wings, gently pulling on the tail while holding onto the neck. As soon as those words left her lips, a heavy weight beared down on her shoulders for a mere second and she immediately looked out the window in time to see a pillar of white light burst out of the ground and light up the clouds around it…calling to her…

Hotaru didn't realize she had moved until her hand hit the candy bag, snapping out of her momentary trance. Hotaru looked at the bag of candy and then back at the window, at that pillar of light. Had _she_ done that?

The pillar of light visibly shrank slowly before disappearing all together. The lights suddenly went out, getting girls to scream in surprise and the guys to jump in response, some of them falling over. Unlike the kids that were now stumbling around blindly, Hotaru could see just fine thanks to her Draga Panther DNA.

Sighing, she put the bag of candy in her desk and tucked in her chair. Before she could step away from her desk, Shingo grabbed her wrist and pulled Hotaru back. His cell phone was open to give him barely enough light to see by.

"Did you do this?" He asked softly. "That light, this black out?"

"No, I didn't." Hotaru answered…at least, she didn't _think_ she did.

Shingo sighed and held up his phone to show her what was on the screen. Usagi had texted him, accusing Hotaru for what had happened just moments before and telling Shingo to keep an eye on her. Shingo closed his phone and put it in his pocket, letting go of her wrist.

"She's been doing that lately, blaming stuff on you. I think it's just because she's jealous you're younger than her and that you've 'got it easy'." Shingo replied, giving her an apologetic shrug.

Hotaru snorted softly. "If your sister thinks I've got it easy, then she hasn't been paying attention."

"Uchiha say something to you that got under your skin?" Shingo reached up to touch her face. Hotaru caught his wrist and lowered his hand.

"He just ruined my good morning on the train, that's all. Thank you for your concern but it's nothing to worry about." Hotaru reassured. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go look for our homeroom teacher to find out what he wants to do."

"Yeah, sounds like a good idea." Shingo nodded as Hotaru released his wrist. "Want some company?"

"Won't be necessary." Ggio cut in, jerking his thumb towards the windows that looked out into the hall. Hotaru figured Kakashi had opened them while she was gone so the teacher across the hall could keep an eye on his class while he went after her and Sasuke. Kakashi was passing by the windows, Sasuke's bicep _firmly_ in his grip and Iruka trailing behind by a couple steps.

_Odd. They don't have a problem seeing in the dark either._ Hotaru thought, trying to figure out what was going on. How could they be able to see when they were clearly human?

Kakashi gave Sasuke a rough redirect down the aisle, releasing his bicep and getting a look from Kakashi. The substitute pointed towards his desk. "Go sit down and stop causing trouble or you will _be_ in trouble and you won't like it."

Sasuke shot Kakashi a glare and half stalked towards his seat, looking at Hotaru as she pulled her chair out to sit in again. He had a mix of hatred and dark curiosity in his black eyes. She gave him an unimpressed look in return as she sat down, Ggio moving between her desk and the chair ahead of her to sit in his temperary spot. Hotaru heard Sasuke sit down in his seat, wondering what could have possibly put him in an even worse mood than before.

"All right, all right. Everyone, get to your seats. The generators'll be on in a minute." Kakashi coaxed as Iruka waited outside the classroom door. The half blind teacher waited as the other students half stumbled around blindly to find their seats. The whole thing made Hotaru sigh wearily but silently as she half slumped in her chair.

This was going to be a _long_ day.

* * *

Well, Hotaru's right about ONE thing--it IS gonna be a long day...but maybe she'll learn something NEW at that bar.

What will the future hold?

Please, read and review....and please don't kill me for keeping you waiting.


	5. Escape Plans, Weird Events

I have a feeling that I'm God-modding this a bit. I'll have to work on that.

**Reviews:**

**Black Convoy:** O.o Uh...NO! I may not have MUCH say in how my stories write themselves but-NO! This is NOT a SasukexHotaru fic. It just shows that even BEFORE later events, they didn't really get along and that there was CLEARLY something wrong with him.

Let's see what's next, shall we?

* * *

Naruto/Bleach/Sailor Moon

**"Timeless Scarlet Rain"**

(Version Two)

**Chapter 5:**

**"Escape Plans, Weird Events"**

Like the other periods before it, fourth period seemed to drag on forever with their dull-as-cheap-paint teacher continued his lecture on the Warring States era. Hotaru had already memorized the chapters and had done the homework, which was slowly being droned out of her brain by the monotoned lecture that she wasn't even paying attention to. She had her notebook open like a good girl but she was actually just doodling all over the lined paper, trying to stay awake and _not_ get a demerit for sleeping in class. Various origami animals were doodled between the man in white she had described to the man in the suit, who she also drew off to the side. Hell, she even drew Ggio and Grimmjow as chibis with cat ears and tails alongside Chibi Kakashi, Sasuke and Suigetsu.

However, at the moment, she was drawing that last look at whoever had been in the fire with her that night a couple years ago. The scene was like a moving photograph in her mind and she just made it a stand-still in her notebook. She couldn't seem to get the images out of her head, _especially_ that fire.

It was _really_ bugging her, needless to say.

Seeing Miki again made it all come back—the way the flames had moved, the way they seemed to have moved towards the _inhabited_ apartments and avoided the _vacant_ apartments…it was like the fire had been drawn to the living. _That_ bothered her most of all. Why had it gone towards the occupied apartments but had _totally_ avoided the unoccupied ones?

_It doesn't make any sense. A normal fire would have burned everything, Rei taught me that._ Hotaru thought, thinking hard about it. She closed her eyes and mentally analyzed every angle, every possibility. Hotaru leaned back against the back of her seat and tapped the end of her pencil against her chin, thinking as deep and as hard as she could. _If I could look into the past…no, that holds too many risks to count in this class period. The Command Center should…no, can't do that. Usagi'll bitch herself hoarse for the next 20 years. I _could_ do a projection. I've gotten pretty good at those. All I need is a quiet place big enough and I could even make it practically life like, solid enough to walk on._

Hotaru opened her eyes, looking at her sketch of the figure in the fire. She hadn't gotten a very good look at him but that whoever-it-was's eyes…they had been unusual, like they could somehow see what she was or what she could do. She couldn't really remember what they looked like. The blast across the street and hitting her head hard enough to cause her to bleed one hell of a puddle on the ground, had taken care of _that_ no problem.

…but she had _seen_ those eyes _long_ before the fire; she was _sure_ of it.

She started to make a diagram, trying to organize her currently swirling thoughts. Maybe it was connected to that man in the suit, that light or the man in white who used to make her cranes as a small child. Maybe it was _all_ connected and she was just _now_ seeing the connections.

Hotaru took off her glasses and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"…I'm getting to damn _old_ for this crap…" She mumbled under her breath…but what _if_….?

Hotaru lowered her hand from her face and looked at the crane on the corner of her desk. That note, as vague as it was, seemed to be her only lead. If she went to cram school, she'd miss the time specified without a doubt and her last two periods were totally out of the question as well, since they were Kakashi Hatake with "current history" and gym with another substitute named Asuma Sarutobi. There was _no_ way Hotaru was going to have Slave Driver Sarutobi after lunch and that rat bastard Kakashi as her last period of the day.

She'd ditch at the end of lunch and go somewhere where no one would think to look for her. It was some place that she hadn't been in _years_ but she still had the key and none of the Senshi—as far as Hotaru knew—knew about it, not even Setsuna. She'd be able to kill some time there, possibly grabbing a change of clothes she kept at Makoto's. It was a weekday, so Makoto would be at the college all afternoon with a couple back to back classes, a small break and a third class before she could even think about going back to her apartment.

Hotaru wrote small in the margin of her notebook. First, she'd eat lunch and go off campus under the guise of going to the convenience store close by for something sweet for a little dessert. Second, she'd go to Mako's apartment to change clothes. Third, she'd go to her secret getaway and kill some time. Fourth, she'd go to Noriyeiga's Bar to see whoever it was and what the hell they wanted. And fifth, she'd stay out "late" on patrol, saying she had gotten a bit restless when she got back to her house.

Her plan wasn't fool proof but it was just something improvised. Hotaru would be able to carry it out with so little ease it would be startling. She had done it before, even _with_ these substitute teachers and they had yet to catch her. It _did_ usually call for just a tad bit more effort on her behalf but it wasn't like it would kill her. Sometimes expending a bit of effort was good for her health; kept things from getting boring.

"Hey, Wild Cat." Grimmjow whispered while the teacher's back was turned. Hotaru looked at him. "Eat with me an' Ggio. We'll be _far_ better company than _anyone_ else in _this_ place."

Oh, that's _right_. She had the _exchange students_ to worry about.

Fan-frakkin'-tastic…_this_ complicated things a bit.

Well, time for that stress-related incident to happen again. It was _high_ time Hotaru used it to ditch class. Her normal teachers didn't really care if she was there or not, since she was so far ahead. They more or less let her do whatever she wanted. According to their records, she was either in the school library or in the nurse's office even when she wasn't at school after homeroom. It didn't honestly matter if she was here or not. Though…

"Come on, ya _gotta_ eat with us." Grimmjow coaxed, glancing at the teacher's back. "It'd be a total crime if ya don't."

"Oh, only a 'total' crime, you say." Hotaru giggled softly, like she found it amusingly cute. Grimmjow gave her a tame shit eating grin with a nod. "I don't know…I usually eat with my friends."

"Like they're gonna mind." Grimmjow scoffed softly.

"Hey!" Shingo hissed softly at Grimmjow, getting the boy's attention. "Leave her alone! Just because she's helping you doesn't mean you can flirt with her!"

"Pissy 'cuz ya ain't her type?" Grimmjow shot at Shingo with a half smile that just _begged_ for Shingo to lash out at him so Grimmjow could prove his strength.

Hotaru rolled her eyes and went back to doodling in her notebook. She didn't have _time_ for these idiots. She had to figure out how she was going to slip away without leaving Grimmjow and Ggio alone with Shingo, Momoko and Kyuusuke.

Doodling random things on blank space, Hotaru barely heard the bell ring to dismiss class and herald in lunch. She thanked every god in her pantheon as many of her fellow students surged towards the doors. Hotaru huffed her bangs up softly at their anxious rush for minor freedom, though after school was going to be _Hell_ if they were _this_ anxious to leave class behind.

_Well, so much for me skipping without notice._ Hotaru thought with a soft sigh as she retracted her pencil lead and put her pencil into her pencil case. She took out her cell phone and flipped it open, seeing all the text messages from Minako, all of them just like Usagi's had become now. Both blonds seemed to have become colder to her, which was a sign that Hotaru was overstaying her welcome in their numbers or they were tired of faking it but it was closer to the first, since she would have known if they had been playing her.

"What's this, Tomoe?" Sasuke asked, snatching her notebook from her desk. "Were you writing in your diary while class was in session?"

"Give me back my notebook, Uchiha." Hotaru ordered firmly, holding her hand out for it. "It's none of your business if I don't pay attention or not. Now, return to me what's mine."

Sasuke's eyes looked at the closed cell phone in her other hand and his gaze traveled to the phone charms. "You _like_ the Sailor Senshi and you're in _middle school_?"

Hotaru didn't let him distract her. "I only like a few. Now, hand it over."

"You've got more than a 'few' phone charms of them." Sasuke pointed out, flicking his eyes at the small collection of charms. Amid a few anime characters, a couple of those "wisdom, prosperity, beauty, grace, etc." strings, and her Zodiac and Astrological signs, the chibi figures of the select number of Sailor Senshi stood out. "God, just how many do you have?"

"Only Pluto, Jupiter, Mercury, Mars, Star Healer, Star Maker and Tuxedo Mask." Hotaru told him, not seeing why it mattered to him.

"What, no Moon or Venus?" Sasuke remarked. Hotaru shot him a look. "I was a Saturn fan personally."

"_You_ liked the Senshi?" Hotaru retorted, not ready to believe that _Sasuke Uchiha_ was one of _her_ fans…let alone a _fan_ of the Senshi in general.

"_Only_ Saturn. The others are just too…_goody-goody_ for their own good. _She_ was stronger and better than them. It boggles the mind on why she didn't take over, since Moon's _obviously_ a weakling in comparison." Sasuke gave her a look in return.

"Ever think that things like that never mattered to her?" Hotaru asked, surprising him. "Ever consider that all that mattered to her was just seeing the next sunset, the next sunrise? Ever figure that she'd rather just be left alone by dumbass bigots like you?"

Sasuke gave her a look, leaning on her desk with a hand. "And what makes _you_ such an authority, hmm?"

_Why does everyone ask me that?_ Hotaru mentally muttered, pocketing her cell phone. She reached for her notebook, which Sasuke kept out of her reach. "It doesn't matter. Just give me back my notebook. It doesn't belong to you. Give it back."

Sasuke leaned closer. "What will you give me for it?"

"How about the number to the best shrink in Japan?" Hotaru's retort made some of the remaining students snicker. "Since you _clearly_ need _extensive_ therapy."

"Why does being called a 'monster' bother you so much?"

_That_ caught Hotaru off guard. "That's _none_ of your damn business, Uchiha!"

Sasuke's eyebrows went high on his forehead. "It _seriously_ grates at you to be called a 'monster,' doesn't it?"

Hotaru realized what had slipped and mentally cursed herself for it. She held her hand out to him again. "Give me my notebook, Uchiha. I've got studying to get done."

"Give me an answer and I'll give you your notebook." He compromised. "What is it about being called 'monster' that bothers you so damn much?"

"Forget it." Hotaru hissed softly, getting her lunch. "Keep it. I'll just go buy another."

Sasuke looked utterly surprised at her as she headed for the door. Hotaru didn't look back and she didn't even slow down. What was it about Sasuke that got under her skin so much? Was it just that damned feeling she got whenever he was around?

No…no, there was some _other_ reason his presence pissed her off like this. Maybe her secret hideout would have the answers. Most of her old records were there. She could go through them as much as she wanted while she was killing time. Screw the rest of school.

She wasn't going to spend 2 more periods in this prison.

Something entered her personal space and she suddenly lashed out, defending herself. Sasuke's friend Juugo was one of those people who were so graceful and so quiet despite their larger size and he was one of the fastest Hotaru had _ever_ encountered. He had caught Hotaru's calf in his hand, stopping her turning side kick without any effort at all.

"Are you all right, Hotaru?" Juugo asked with a tone that one reserved for close friends. Where did he get off using it with someone he didn't even know?

"L-let go of my leg." Hotaru instructed, trying to drop her leg but being unsuccessful.

"It's not good for you to be on edge. Your fits'll start up again." Juugo said simply, softly and it startled Hotaru to her core. What was it about Sasuke and the people he was with that they knew stuff they shouldn't?

_No one_ could _ever_ see past her facades! She was the _best_ in Existence! _No one_ was better or stronger than her!

"Let go of me!" Hotaru ordered.

"You've never been scared of me. You and Kimimaro, neither of you were _ever_ scared of me." Juugo said softly. "So, why are you scared of me now, when you know of me what you know?"

"I don't know you!" Hotaru snapped, surprising Juugo. "Let go of me! Let me go!"

Juugo's hand tightened on her leg. "Not until you calm down."

"I said 'let go'!" Hotaru screamed, electricity racing over her skin. Juugo was forced to drop Hotaru's leg and she half collapsed, feeling the old weight and tickle in her chest. She started coughing, her hand flying to cover her mouth.

She pulled her hand back to look at her palm. Thankfully, no blood—not yet—but why was it acting up _now_? She hadn't had breathing problems since she got back from the Cauldron!

"…_calm down….nice deep breaths….come on, just nice deep breaths…"_

Hotaru closed her eyes and took a deep breath, feeling her breathing catch a little. She let it out slowly and took another breath, the catching easing slowly. She had to keep calm, to keep relaxed or she was going to start coughing up blood next. Now that the weight was easing in her chest, Hotaru noticed the ache in her head…was it from that voice replaying in her head?

"Hotaru?" Juugo reached for her, as if to help her up but Hotaru stood under her power with a faint sway. "You should go lay down in the infirmary. Your fits have started up again. You have to go lay down."

"Don't touch me!" Hotaru snapped, the electricity making a comeback, lashing out at Juugo's outstretched hand. She turned and ran up the stairs, leaving a startled Juugo behind.

She didn't stop until she got to the roof, busting through the door and stopping several feet away from it, bracing her hands on her knees to catch her breath. Her chest burned now and that tickle was starting to turn into a slight pinch. She didn't wait for the coughing to start again and took slow, deep breaths to get the pain to pass….and how ironic, of all the things she didn't need at the moment to have stayed in her grip: her lunch.

A soft tap of something landing on the roof made Hotaru look up at the person in front of her. Dressed in a long black coat with a porcelain animal mask that bore blue markings, whoever this guy was before her, he wasn't too much taller than she was and from the way the coat fell, it was definitely a "he"—a teenaged "he" but a "he" none the less. Hotaru could faintly smell ink and paper coming from this individual and while his stance and posture said that he was indifferent, neutral—the _gaze_ on her _definitely_ wasn't…like it could see _deeper_ than the uniform.

"…_please_ tell me you're _not_ with that jackass Uchiha…" Hotaru muttered, mostly to herself, trying to catch her breath. "…running into _another_ of his 'friends' is the _last_ thing I need right now…" A sharp pain ripped through her chest, making her drop her lunch and put her hand to her chest, as if that could ease the pain. "…why is it I go numb…when I cut off a limb…but I feel it…when I'm burned…or I get an injection….or something _this_ happens…? Why can't I go numb….then too?"

The soft rustling of cloth got Hotaru's attention, getting her to look up at the masked male in front of her. His clawed and gloved hand was held out to her, a couple of small pale blue pills in his palm. She looked at the pills and then at him.

"What…what are those?" She asked.

"A pain reliever, for someone with our training." He told her, his voice slightly muffled by something more than the porcelain mask.

"Tr-training?" Hotaru repeated. "It's…genetics, for me…"

"Is it?" He asked simply. "Or did merely _forget_ that you were trained to withstand torture?"

Hotaru tried to look at his face but the pain in her chest increased and she dropped to her knees. The masked man knelt in front of her and gripped her chin, lifting her head up. He put his mouth to hers and squeezed her jaw until she opened her mouth. Water and something chemical passed over her tongue and hit the back of her throat, making Hotaru swallow or choke.

Hotaru, needless to say, swallowed and the masked man didn't move until he was sure she _had_ swallowed. He pulled back, lowering his mask back over his face.

"It will take some time for it to take effect." He told her. "Just relax for now."

Her chest still hurt but the pain was easing slowly. "What's-what's with the mask? Afraid I'll pester you for your act of charity?"

"No, protocol." He answered, on a knee before her. "I would show you, but…"

"Then you'd have to either kill or detain me, right?" Hotaru earned a soft nod as she groaned softly, her hand to her chest. She looked at him. "Why doesn't it go numb?"

"Slow damage never does. There must be something wrong with your heart…or perhaps, it's your lungs." He replied, getting her attention. She looked a bit alarmed. "So, your lungs?"

"I…I was a kid in my father's lab when something-something went wrong that _shouldn't_ have gone wrong, and my mother died in the resulting 'accident'…and there…" Hotaru mumbled softly, trailing off as she thought. "…there was this-this _powder_ that was in this cylinder on the work station closest to us…a chemical exploded and broke the cylinder…"

"And you breathed it in." She nodded. "How many others?"

"Most of the sector I was in…but I'm the only survivor left. There were three others but they died from old age or prior illnesses worsened by the accident." The Senshi of Silence looked down and then looked up at him. "…but I'm the only one who's lasted this long…that powder must have done something to my lungs…God…why am I tell a complete _stranger_ this…?"

He didn't say anything, just looked at her. She must have swayed because he caught her, hands on her shoulders. "Eat something. It will help."

"But that'll slow…" Hotaru winced at the dull pain and at her inability to breathe for a moment.

"The pain-killer is distributed along the chakra network." The masked man told her softly. "Eating won't slow the absorption of the pain-killer."

"Ch-chakra?" Hotaru repeated as he helped her onto her feet. Her chest gave another spasm and she practically collapsed into his arms. He supported her over to a wall and eased her down on the roof top. He then picked up her dropped lunch and brought it to her, setting it on the ground next to her hip.

"You've forgotten too much. If this keeps up, you'll end up dying by the hand of someone undeserving." The masked man told her in a low voice.

Hotaru snorted softly with a worn half smirk. "Like that bastard standing in those weird ass flames in the Odachi Complex fire?"

The masked man was silent for a moment. "…what do you mean by 'weird'?"

"You mean _aside_ from the fact only the _inhabited_ apartments were burned?" Hotaru shot back, getting a nod. "It seemed to me that it was going after any living signature but it was strongly attracted to those bearing a human one…being _followed_ via the _identical_ route I had taken to save Miki…no fire moves that way on its own. It was definitely being controlled…and I think it was that guy who was watching me. He stood amid the flames without fear, perfectly _calm_…and now that I think about it, the flames weren't moving towards him, but moving _away_, as if he was the source."

"Are you sure?" He asked.

Hotaru smirked softly, closing her eyes. "Despite that explosion that knocked me across the street and all the blood I had lost—_yeah_, I'm sure." She opened her eyes part way. "…I've had too many people try to take my life permanently…I know when someone's _too_ aware of my physiology. He wasn't trying to kill me, not with that little bang…no, he wanted to do enough damage to insure that I wouldn't remember everything when I was finished healing."

"Then he succeeded in hiding his identity." The masked man sighed softly.

"I wouldn't say that." The Sacrificial Soldier murmured with an actual smirk. "I _know_ I've seen those weird _eyes_ before."

The masked man reached into his sleeves and pulled out a scroll, taking a brush from the top and opening an ink well on the bottom. He held out the brush to her in offering.

"Would you be able to show me what those eyes looked like?" He asked.

Hotaru took the brush as he opened the scroll, giving her a large enough space to work with. She laughed softly as she dipped the tip of the brush into the ink.

"Funny, I _knew_ you smelled like ink and paper for some reason." She admitted, putting the brush to the paper. It had been a while since she used a calligraphy brush but it wasn't something she easily forgot, not when Michiru insisted she keep up painting. "I suppose carrying it around like this is that reason. You make your own ink, don't you?"

Her momentary companion was silent for a few breaths and when he spoke again, she could barely hear him.

"…yes, I do…"

The Senshi of Silence smiled softly at that, putting as much detail as possible into her drawing. "It's pretty obvious that you do. It's so much smoother than manufactured ink. It's like liquid silk instead of ink and it's such a rich shade of black. It's very well done. I'm totally jealous…I can't make ink like this, not even for my paintings."

"You paint?" He asked softly.

"I do. I like doing traditional art in general but I love doing scenery more than anything. I love the look of the old scrolls in the museums and in the galleries. When I was little, I begged my guardians to let me learn how to paint like that. My instructor was so old…but she was _amazing_. There was _no one_ in the world better than her when it came to such an art form."

"…I would love to see some of your work some time…" Her momentary company admitted in a barely audible voice. It was like he wasn't used to or wasn't _supposed_ to express what _he_ wanted. It reminded Hotaru a lot of herself, how she was supposed to act instead of how she wanted to.

"And I would like to see yours, too." Hotaru replied in return, lifting the brush from the paper at last. "I have a feeling you can only express yourself completely through your creations."

He took the brush from her and closed the ink well as he looked at what she had drawn for him. "…you put so much detail into this. You've worked with only one type of brush before."

"I use only one most of the time. I have times where I don't like changing my brushes so I'll just keep working with one."

"Me, too." He admitted. He put the brush away and then rolled up the scroll, tucking it away. "I must return to my post."

"Thank you for your help." Hotaru replied as he stood.

"It was nothing." He dismissed in a low voice. "Make sure you eat something. It will help strengthen your network."

He disappeared in a small cloud of smoke, leaving Hotaru alone on the roof. Hotaru touched her lips with a light finger, remembering how he had given her the pills. It wasn't a kiss for a kiss, but like CPR, contact as a means to an end. Still, his lips were soft and he was gentle, even when he had to force her mouth to open. If she _did_ get a boyfriend, she wanted one like him—someone gentle but strong and liked _kaiga_ and _sumi-eh_ like she did.

Hotaru smiled softly as she lowered her hand and leaned her head back to look at the sky. "…it's kinda funny…I could have _sworn_ we've met before…but it's like a half remembered dream…as I try to remember, it just gets farther and farther away…"

Hotaru closed her eyes, leaning her head back even farther. "…Mother Heaven—I _hate_ that feeling…it's like someone went and messed with my head…"

Hotaru enjoyed the quiet and fading pain, the distant sound of her fellow students not reaching her at their normal volume with her up on the roof. A gentle breeze tugged at her skirt, hair and the red bow at her chest. She liked it quiet, liked it peaceful.

It was kind of sad that she had lost her taste for the reason she was commissioned some time ago…but _when_ she lost her taste for fighting, for killing…_that_ she couldn't be so sure about. All she knew was that it was sometime in her childhood, after her mother's death but before her father's…but _when_ did she…?

"Hey, Wild Cat!" Grimmjow called out to her, making Hotaru open her eyes and lower her head to look at him. "_There_ ya are! Ggio an' I were lookin' for ya all ov'r the place!"

_Why can't I be _alone_ at lunch for once?_ Hotaru thought with a mental groan as Grimmjow and Ggio sat on either side of her, like it was normal. She closed her eyes again and leaned her head back, opening her eyes part way to look at the sky. _…maybe it's time for me to go to Saturn for a while…_

"Hey, come on, Wild Cat." Grimmjow said. "Ya gotta eat something."

Hotaru dropped her head and looked at him. Why was he so concerned about her?

Grimmjow put her lunch on her lap. "Come on, eat. Eat."

"I'm not really all that hungry." Hotaru admitted softly. Grimmjow put his finger to her forehead and gave her a scowl. "What…what did I say?"

"Expendin' power like that without control is jus' _askin'_ for stress on yer body. Eat an' get yer strength back." Grimmjow half ordered. "Eat it yerself or we're gonna have to feed it to ya _ourselves_, got it?"

Hotaru didn't want to think about it but she couldn't feel his finger on her forehead. She could feel a spot of warmth but that was it. She didn't feel her skin giving or his nail biting into her skin. It was kind of weird, kind of unnerving but Hotaru couldn't muster enough to care.

"Why do you care?" Hotaru asked, a little out of it. It was kind of weird, since she couldn't feel the roof beneath her or her clothes or shoes. It was a nice, detached feeling to have for the moment.

Grimmjow pulled his finger back and exchanged a look with Ggio, then looked back at Hotaru. "You…you okay, Wild Cat? You seem like you're _high_ or somethin'."

"I'm _not_ high." Hotaru muttered, starting to untie the knot on top of her bento. "I can't _get_ high. My body shuts down, either entirely or just in the concerned section."

"Then why didn't you know that you're bleeding?" Ggio asked, pushing her bangs out of his way and dabbing at her forehead with his handkerchief. He took a band aid and a small tube of anti-bacterial ointment from his pocket. He tended to the little cut on Hotaru's forehead and then put the small band aid on it, smoothing her bangs back into place to hide it. "I mean, didn't that hurt? His nails are sharp and he doesn't have enough brains to hold back."

"Shut the hell up, Vega." Grimmjow growled as Hotaru took her chopsticks out of their holder and opened her lunch box. She mentally sighed, seeing the "delightful" way Michiru had made her lunch again—all the stuff Michiru and Haruka had had in their lunches when they were her age.

Didn't they _know_ Hotaru had _far_ different nutritional needs than they did?

Hotaru sighed softly as she picked up a small sushi roll and put it in her mouth. She was going to have _another_ talk with Michiru about her nutritional needs. She couldn't stay healthy when she was being forced to eat like the Uranian and Neptunian Senshi. She was an _Arithian_—a _completely_ different planetary _breed_ than the two sister stars stuck between Saturn and Pluto.

Hell, if this kept up, she was better off making her _own_ lunches.

"Yer spacin' out on us, Wild Cat." Grimmjow waved his hand in front of Hotaru's face.

"Do that again and I'll do something to it that won't be pleasant." Hotaru warned mildly. "I don't like things stuck in my face."

Ggio and Grimmjow exchanged a look and Ggio took his unnoticed hand from Hotaru's back. They knew something was up but they didn't say any more, letting Hotaru eat her lunch without more questions. They ate in silence for a few moments but like the _rest_ of Hotaru's quiet moments that day, it was short lived.

"Fleeting" was _definitely_ the Word of the Day.

"Ho-ta-_ruuu_!" An annoyed shriek made both Ggio and Grimmjow growl but Hotaru just closed her eyes, ignoring it. "What the _hell_ are you doing?"

"Momoko, don't be so loud." Shingo lightly scolded. "You'll get detention for disrupting activities again."

"What are you doing up here with these two?" Kyuusuke asked of Hotaru.

"Eatin' lunch. What does it look like?" Grimmjow shot back, Hotaru not saying anything. She was staying out of it, eating her lunch without a word or a glance at anyone. "An' ya didn't even know she was _gone_ 'til jus' now, did ya?"

Momoko's cheeks burned with an angry blush. "How _dare_ you speak to me like _that_! _I_ am Chibi Usa's _best friend_!"

"The Sun pursues what it cannot have." Hotaru murmured around her chopsticks, mildly surprising those around her. "And it covets what shines a light far purer and gentler than its own rays, hating the Night and its starlit embrace."

"What the _hell_ are you blathering on about _now_?" Momoko half demanded.

"It's an old riddle." Ggio commented. "She's saying you are the Sun and what you want is the Moon. Obviously, she has what you want, as she is the Night and the Moon is in her care."

"How do you know that?" Shingo asked of Ggio. "It's one I've rarely heard myself and I've been around her since we were children."

Ggio closed his eyes with a faint smirk. "It's common knowledge in the castle known as 'the Night' which rests within Moon-bathed sands and beneath the sickle grin and its many eyes, amid the bony fingers reaching for the sky."

Hotaru looked at him. "And such is the haven of those whom call the Night their home."

"Yes, exactly." Ggio nodded with a softer smile for Hotaru. "Who told you of it?"

"I…" Hotaru blinked and looked at her lunch box. "I…I don't know. I can't…I can't remember. All I know is that it was told to me when I was a child."

"Pity. Not a lot of people know it." Ggio admitted.

"Come on!" Momoko ordered the Senshi of Silence. "We're going back downstairs!"

Hotaru gave no indication that she had heard but the sky darkened overhead, getting the two human boys to look up at the sky in curiosity. Grimmjow looked up and whistled impressed.

"Tha's gonna be one hell of a shower." Grimmjow remarked with a smirk. "I'd hate to get caught up in it once it all comes down."

Ggio glanced up then went back to his lunch. "It won't start raining yet."

"Yeah, I guessed that." Grimmjow said, returning to his own food.

"You should come in before it rains, Hotaru. If you get too cold, you could get sick again." Shingo was trying to sound reasonable but he didn't like how cozy those two were being around Hotaru, or how Hotaru wasn't paying attention to their close proximity. Hotaru didn't normally like people so close.

"You want to hear her tutoring us on Japanese terms and customs in Spanish?" Ggio asked, looking up at them, mildly surprising all three. "That's what we're doing up here. You mind?"

"P-private tutoring?" Kyuusuke exclaimed, a blush starting to color his cheeks.

Grimmjow scowled at him. "Ya _shit stupid_ or somethin'? It's _quiet_ up here."

"It's not going to be very entertaining, honestly." Ggio replied as though he was telling the truth. "After all, we'll be speaking Spanish for a majority of it. You'll all get bored."

"Hotaru?" Shingo double-checked, looking at the Sacrificial Soldier.

"It's _fine_. Go, I can take care of myself just fine." Hotaru told him, not looking at them. She was more concerned with eating at the moment. "It's not like they'll _try_ anything, not with the subs being so 'Johnny-on-the-Spot' like they were with Uchiha."

"You sure, Hotaru?" Shingo questioned. "You're kind of out of it."

"Just…fed up with everything." Hotaru replied, looking up as she plucked a small sushi roll from her bento. "I'll help these two and meet up with you later for study group."

"All right." Shingo nodded, apparently believing her. "We're meeting at my house, just in case these two need help after school, too."

"I got it." Hotaru popped the captured roll into her mouth, going back to her lunch.

"Then we'll see you back in class." Shingo turned and headed for the stairs. Kyuusuke waited for a few more nervous moments before going after him and Momoko glared at Hotaru pointedly.

"Don't expect me to let this just go forgotten later. Chibi Usa _won't_ like you treating me this way." Momoko snapped at Hotaru, her warning dark and venomous.

"You never _did_ listen to those _alarms_ at the back of your mind." Hotaru said softly, her voice a few octaves colder. "Oh, well—the _next_ time you die shall be by your folly alone. I won't waste my power nor my _time_ bringing you _back_, since you'll _obviously_ never learn."

"What did you say?" Momoko seethed.

"Momoko!" Shingo called over to her from the door. "Let's _go_ or we'll get in trouble with the vice principal for hindering the exchange students' horizon broadening!"

Momoko huffed at the slight scolding and then muttered an insult under her breath that _no_ Terran—that no one _alive_ should have known. Hotaru was suddenly ready to spring at the other girl to rip her to shreds with her long nails lengthening and turning into claws, biting into the concrete of the roof, a low feline growl of dark promise seeping out of Hotaru's throat. She tried to launch forward, to pounce and strike but she was finding it hard to move as she pleased.

"_Relax_, Wild Cat!" Grimmjow hissed with a grunt of effort, getting Hotaru to land on her butt, her feet swept forward to knock them from under her. Ggio was keeping her skirt against the back of her knees, having been the one to essentially knock her off her feet. "Damn—what got into ya?"

"Whatever that girl said, it _obviously_ wasn't something she should have said." Ggio remarked getting Grimmjow to snap "no fuckin' duh!" at him in Spanish. Ggio lifted one of Hotaru's hands up, looking at her longer nails. "_These_ are _very_ impressive. Ours don't get _this_ long."

"Lemme go." Hotaru mumbled, pulling her hand out of his as her claws retracted, returning to being merely nails. She picked up her lunch that had been moved out of her way by one of the two—probably Grimmjow, since it was closer to him—and went back to eating. However, she was _not_ going to let Momoko get away with _that_.

No, that Terran was going to _pay_ for using that _fetid_ word and there was _no_ way Hotaru was going to just let it go.

* * *

Yeeeah...I'm DEFINITELY God-modding this a bit.

I'll have to tone it down some...maybe a lot.

Please read and review!


	6. Rescue Time

Yeah, I know-BAAAAD Nuu-Chan, no cookies for a month!

**Taeniaea:** Thanks! Hey-I know you! You're one of Kazi-kun's reviewers! Cool! X)

Here you guys go.

* * *

Naruto/Bleach/Sailor Moon

**"Timeless Scarlet Rain"**

(Version Two)

**Chapter 6:**

**"Rescue Time"**

"Go, I'll be down in a moment." Hotaru told Ggio and Grimmjow as she packed up her empty bento. The pair wanted to hit a convenience store for a little something extra and they didn't really understand the Japanese pricing system, which meant Hotaru would have to go with them.

"All right, Wild Cat. We'll meet you at the classroom." Grimmjow replied as the boys headed downstairs.

Hotaru waited until they were gone until she just leaned against the concrete wall around the roof and closed her eyes with a heavy sigh. She just wanted to enjoy this feeling of feeling _nothing_ for as long as she had it. She could _never_ escape the weight of time on her shoulders, the eons ground into her bones or the caged feeling of living in a city that had to have conductors shove people into the trains to make sure none of them got caught in the doors during rush hour.

It was almost worth getting addicted to, if she didn't know better.

Hotaru's bones felt like they were itching and her muscles spasmed faintly, like her skin was trying to separate itself from her body. Her brow furrowed slightly, her muscles tightened in attempt to stop the faint spasms and her hands curled into fists. God, why was it _stronger_ now, when it wasn't so damn _bad_ before?

…but Sasuke wasn't even _close_ to her. She _knew_ he was down under a tree with his friends in a corner of the school grounds where they'd only be happened across by pure chance. That was where they _always_ went during lunch.

_**BZZZZZ**_

_**BZZZZZ**_

It wasn't so much that Hotaru _felt_ her phone ring as she _heard_ it vibrating on the roof through her skirt pocket. Hotaru took out her cell phone and flipped it open without checking the caller ID, putting it her ear.

"Do the words 'school's still in session' mean anything?" Hotaru asked.

A familiar laugh made Hotaru open her eyes and sit up. _"I take it that you've had to put up with Momoko-chan in a snit today."_

"Setsuna…" Hotaru replied softly. "Did you finally get a signal at the Gates of Time?"

"_I'm not _at_ the Gates, Hotaru. I'm here on Earth, in Japan, in Tokyo…in your administration office."_ Setsuna said, getting Hotaru's attention. _"I've come to pick you up. I've been worried about you. The weather's been changing like a dime today and it's _supposed_ to be _sunny_."_

Hotaru mentally groaned. "Sorry, Setsuna."

"_It's all right, Sweetie, but I think you may need a break today, so I've come to pick up from school early."_ Setsuna told Hotaru. _"Get your things and meet me by the front doors. I've just about finished the arrangements for you to leave."_

"All right. I'll be down in a moment." Hotaru replied before closing her phone. She picked up her bento and rose to her feet, heading downstairs.

This worked out perfectly, since Hotaru just had to tell Setsuna she had to be left alone for a bit and Setsuna would let her do as she pleased without question. That was the good thing about having a partner almost as old as she was (even if she couldn't even _remember_ her real age) because when dealing those younger than you pissed you off, your partner knew _just_ how you felt and gave you some alone time. Well, at least _Setsuna_ did….and _Hotaru_ was just a loner by nature.

Hotaru made it to her classroom without being bothered and made it to her desk, putting her things into her school bag. She didn't see where Grimmjow or Ggio were, which kind of concerned her, but she was _not_ going to delay her escape. As she shouldered her bag, Hotaru turned and came face to face with Grimmjow…or rather face to _chest_…damn, was he _seriously_ so much taller than her?

"You leavin' too, Wild Cat?" Grimmjow asked as Hotaru took a step or two back.

"Yeah, I'm-I'm headed home. My aunt's here. She's been worried about the amount of work I've been taking on lately." Hotaru supplied as Grimmjow slung his bag over his shoulder. "She wants me to have a psyche day."

"Sounds cool. Me an' Ggio got, er, _recalled_ by our home stay parent. He wants us to confirm our junk, I guess." Grimmjow replied as he and Hotaru left the classroom together. "I gotta ask ya somethin' about what happened on the roof, Wild Cat."

"I was on my way down when my cell rang." Hotaru said.

"No, not that. What that chick said—what's it mean?" Grimmjow asked. Hotaru's hand on her strap tightened. "It's cool if ya don't wanna answer. I jus' wanna know so I can beat the shit outta the _next_ bastard who calls ya that, behind yer back or to yer face."

That made Hotaru smile softly. "Thanks, Grimmjow, but it's not something you'd understand. My aunt knows the whole thing and I can tell that it goes over _her_ head sometimes. No one else gets it but that's all right. My honor gets defended all the same—besides, what I told Momoko's not going to change. I'm fed up with putting up with her mood swings."

"They that bad?" Grimmjow questioned.

"Let's just say I'd take _Karrin_ over her." Hotaru said, jerking her thumb at the classroom they were passing.

"That shit-ugly bitch with the Coke-bottles that hangs with that ass Uchiha?" Grimmjow snorted, getting Hotaru to nod. "Damn, tha's kinda harsh, Wild Cat, but I hafta admit that I'm with ya there."

"Uh, Grimmjow?" Hotaru asked, getting his attention. "Could you and Ggio keep my reaction a secret? There have only been two people who have seen me like that, one of my surrogate sisters and an old friend back when I was a little kid. No one else knows that…that calling me _that_ causes me to lose my cool like I did. I can't let anyone manipulate me like that, so you can't even discuss it."

"Not a problem, Wild Cat." Grimmjow reassured. "Yer secret's safe with us."

"Thank you."

"Yer really not like anyone here, are ya?" Grimmjow asked, getting Hotaru to look at him. "I mean, yer more like us, more like a wild animal fakin' bein' human."

"What makes you say that?" Hotaru asked. Perhaps she could hide it better.

"Dunno. It ain't jus' what happened on the roof." Grimmjow admitted. "It's jus' a feelin' I get from ya, tha's all. Kinda calls ta me in a way I haven't felt in a shit long time."

_So, he's been feeling too. Interesting…_ Hotaru thought, keeping her expression free of her suspicions. "That's unusual then, right?"

"Yeah, I guess." Grimmjow muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. "Hey, Wild Cat—whadya doin' later?"

"Why?" Hotaru asked, wondering what was going through his head as they reached the first floor. "What do you have planned?"

"Nothin' really. Jus'—y'know, studyin' an' that. We didn't get the Spanish books an' Japanese is tough to read through." Grimmjow supplied. "Kinda thought maybe you'd be up to helpin' us with homework an' some of the class work."

"I'll have to see if my aunt will let me do that." Hotaru replied with a smile. "Maybe I can talk her into letting me help."

Like a spark of electricity between a pair of broken wires, something sent a shock of power through Hotaru's body, making her stop dead with her eyes wide. Every cell thrummed with building energy, waiting to be unleashed on whoever had caught her notice. For some reason, Hotaru looked behind her, over her shoulder and saw the back of a student she didn't recognize. Lightly scenting the air, Hotaru found a couple of scents she recognized _far_ too well.

"…blood and gun powder…?" Hotaru murmured a touch confused. Why would a student have an aura of blood and gunpowder following in their wake?

Old and half forgotten memories of a past that many youth would never truly understand, swam to the forefront of Hotaru's mind. Battlefields where new-fangled cannons and firearms were used with fierce exuberance, the ones Hotaru had once inspected with disgust of the cowardice it took to massacre those lesser than themselves…they were starting to replay all over again. However, the _tang_ of _this_ gunpowder was different than that of the past.

Hotaru could usually tell what the purpose a certain type of gunpowder had, just by comparing the scent to her past memories.

"Hotaru, there you are." A warm voice greeted, getting Hotaru to look away from the boy's back. She saw the tall fashionable woman coming towards the two teenagers with a smile.

Setsuna Meiou was taller than the male teacher she was standing beside in her high heels. She wore a fashionable lady's suit that was a delicate shade of lavender with a white blouse and a red scarf in a bow. Her long hair reached her ankles and was the _darkest_ shade of green Hotaru had _ever_ come across, styled in a semi ponytail that was then turned into a bun. Her garnet-colored eyes were gentle and warm as well as knowledgeable and cautious. She wore her favorite garnet red earrings and a delicate shade of red lips stick on her lips. And out of _all_ the Senshi, her skin was the darkest and possibly the most flawless of their number on Earth.

"I was just coming to look for you." Setsuna replied with another smile for the Senshi of Silence.

"See ya later, Wild Cat." Grimmjow bid, lightly nudging her arm with his.

"Oh, yeah—see you later." Hotaru nodded, looking away from Setsuna as Grimmjow passed the older woman, Setsuna's eyes following him until he passed. Grimmjow stopped and looked back with a slight confused look as Setsuna gently directed Hotaru towards the front doors. "When'd you get back? I thought you had to stay there for a whole month this time."

"There" was the Gates of Time, Setsuna's protectorate. Hotaru loved the Plutonian Senshi but she could do _without_ the time travel. It tended to make her sick when Time was messed with.

"I came back early because I was worried about you." Setsuna said simply with a softer smile. "I've been watching over you and I have to admit the weather's been _awfully_ unsettled all morning."

Hotaru sheepishly ducked her head down. "…sorry about that…"

A flicker of something out of the corner of her eye got Hotaru to look at Setsuna. She wasn't sure what was wrong—other than she _obviously_ had forgotten she was wearing her reading glasses still—because Setsuna didn't look any different…though it was kind of like she wasn't there.

"It's all right, Hotaru. You've been under a lot of stress lately. This human life was never what you were originally meant to live." Setsuna never used her creation against her and she understood that for someone like Hotaru, it was difficult for her to keep up the charade and pretenses of being perfectly human and demure.

Setsuna lightly nudged Hotaru in the arm, getting the girl's attention. "So, who was that you were with?"

"He's one of the exchange students from Spain that arrived today. Since I speak Spanish fluently, Ms. Haruna asked me to take care of him and his fellow." Hotaru answered, unconsciously rubbing the spot where Setsuna had nudged her. It held a funny tingle that she wanted gone. "The one with me was Grimmjow Jaggerjaques. The other is Ggio Vega. They sit on either side of me so I can help them better."

"And why does this 'Grimmjow' call you 'Wild Cat'?" Setsuna asked, getting a slight sheepish blush to color Hotaru's cheeks.

"…because I kinda snapped at Mr. Hatake for questioning my ability to complete what I promised Ms. Haruna…" Hotaru admitted softly, not looking up.

"Hatake? Isn't he the same man who called the house when you skipped school?" Setsuna earned a faintly startled look. "I'm Sailor Pluto, the Senshi of Time, remember? I can multitask as well as the next woman with dominion over the forces of time."

Hotaru laughed softly at the joke. "Yeah, it's the same guy, the rat bastard."

It was Setsuna's turn to laugh softly. "You _really_ don't care for him, do you?"

"He's _annoying_, honestly. He keeps himself informed on his temporary students, like with my breathing issues, which he brought up today in his defense." Hotaru grumbled.

"That's…your medical file is _sealed_. It would be _impossible_ for him to have found that out." Setsuna said with a tone Hotaru had _never_ heard her use before…in fact, it didn't even _register_ in Setsuna's vocal patterns. As a Plutonian, Setsuna's voice could only hit a certain range and _that_ tone was between a pair of tones in her pattern but it was _always_ skipped over because of what planet she was from.

Something was _definitely_ up and it set off _every_ alarm in Hotaru's head to be careful but to get to the bottom of this, Hotaru was going to stick with it and give _nothing_ away.

"Momoko said she was Chibi Usa's best friend again today." Hotaru said changing the subject.

"Isn't that the 5th time in the last two months?" The woman beside Hotaru asked as they reached the school gates after crossing the school yard.

"Yeah, _and_ I've rescinded my protection over her. The _next_ time she dies, I'm _not_ bringing her back. She'll be dead and that's that." The Sacrificial Soldier remarked, pushing up her reading glasses. She stopped and growled under her breath. "…dammit, Uchiha _still_ has my notebook. I should have gotten it from him at lunch, the thieving emo asshole."

"Someone _stole_ something of _yours_?" The Plutonian woman snorted softly. "Well, _their_ days are surely numbered."

"He's just a prick who sits two desks behind me. He's _such_ a jackass that I don't understand _why_ all the girls have crushes on him." Hotaru muttered, following Setsuna onto the sidewalk that led to the parking lot. "I mean, who _cares_ if he's cute if his attitude and personality _suck_?"

"You've always been a practical little thing." Setsuna lightly teased as they came up to a familiar garnet red car. Hotaru went to the passenger door as the locks clicked and Setsuna got behind the wheel. Hotaru sat with her bag at her feet and recognized the new sound system Haruka had _insisted_ Setsuna have installed, the CD playing a collection of Beethoven composures Hotaru herself had performed and recorded when she was younger.

It was Setsuna's car with her CD playing. So, maybe Hotaru was just imagining things. After all, Setsuna changed every now and then but she also hadn't changed at the same time. According to Princess Kakyuu of Kinmoku, those other Setsuna women _were_ Setsuna, but just her Other Selves, which meant they were Setsuna, just from a different dimension.

Maybe this Setsuna was another Self….which would kind of suck if the one Hotaru had known for the past 6 years had died.

Hotaru stayed silent as Setsuna pulled out of her space and then out of the parking lot. She stared out the window, watching the buildings pass them and then fall behind. After a moment, Hotaru began to recognize the area a little _too_ well.

"We can't go back to the house." Hotaru said, turning to her partner. "Michiru's home and she'll pitch a fit worse than Haruka, once she comes back from her laps at the track."

"That's so very true." Setsuna agreed, turning onto another street to travel away from their route home. "Where would you like to go?"

"…could I possibly escape on my own for a while?" Hotaru asked.

Setsuna smiled knowingly. "Not in the mood for company, I take it?"

"No, not really." Hotaru admitted. Setsuna nodded in understanding and pulled over to the side of the road. "I'm not sure I'm safe around people right now."

"With the weather changing as often as it has for the past week and a half, I'm sure that you need the breather from such mundane normalcy." The Senshi of Time reassured. "Minako's place is closest to where we are now but I don't think you want the cutesy summery outfits she has for you there."

"I'll go to Makoto's." Hotaru responded, unbuckling her seat belt. She leaned over the emergency brake and gave Setsuna a grateful hug and a quick peck on the cheek. "Thanks for understanding and for the _much_ needed rescue."

"You're welcome, Firefly." Setsuna replied as Hotaru pulled away. Hotaru opened the car door, grabbed her bag and hopped out of the car. Setsuna quickly picked up her purse and pulled out a card. "I have a new number. Here, if you need anything, please call me on it."

"Yeah, sure." Hotaru looked at the card. "What happened? Bad guy smash the old one?"

"Something like that." Setsuna replied with a half smile. "Well, go on, get out of the street. Wouldn't want to have to scrape your living bits off some poor sap's windshield with a squeegee."

Hotaru gave her partner a rare smile that showed the true girl behind all the masks and acts, mildly startling Setsuna. "I'll see ya later, Setsuna. Thanks for understanding—and thanks for being there for me, no matter what I've done."

"Not a problem…" Setsuna mumbled in mild shock as Hotaru gave her another true smile and then closed the car door, hurrying to the side walk. She watched Hotaru hope onto the side walk and received one last smile and a wave, making Setsuna wave a little in return before Hotaru hustled down the street and took a short cut between two buildings.

Setsuna turned back around and she gripped the steering wheel, putting her forehead to the instrument. "…damn…she…she's too _pure_…the _trust_ she has in this woman…." She squeezed her eyes shut. "…Taicho…forgive me for what I'm about to do to her…I…I see _no_ other way to do as you asked of us…"

* * *

**Hotaru:** Uh...

Don't. Just don't.

I have no idea. As I've said before-these damned things write themselves.

plz read and revie...and no killing the Nuu-chan.


	7. Missing Pieces, Looking Up

Here's your reward for putting up with me-another chapter in the same day.

* * *

Naruto/Bleach/Sailor Moon

**"Timeless Scarlet Rain"**

(Version Two)

**Chapter 7:**

**"Missing Piece, Looking Up"**

Hotaru reached Makoto's apartment building and looked over the tops of her reading glasses, looking towards Mako's apartment. Good—she wasn't home, making this _much_ easier.

Hotaru hurried into the lift as she fished out the key ring that held all the keys of the Senshi's homes. She had put red tape around the teeth of the places she was no longer welcome as she had been in the past, though Makoto's wasn't one of those keys. It was one of the untaped keys, small green rhinestones around a small sugar pink rhinestone rose at the top. Each key had something relating to the Senshi in some way, the colors and rose matching Sailor Jupiter's colors and Mako's earrings.

As soon as the lift stopped, Hotaru half rushed to Makoto's apartment door and put her glasses in their case before unlocking the door. Hotaru slipped inside her friend's apartment and locked the door behind her, toeing off her shoes and setting her bag on the floor. She went deeper into the apartment, heading to the guest room where Makoto kept her bag of spare clothes and shoes on the top shelf in the closet.

Hotaru opened the door to the guest room and smiled softly as the rose bedding with the green comforter, and matching pillows. Hotaru had spent quite a few nights in this room when things got hard. Makoto was one of her adopted big sisters and never dug too deep, only giving Hotaru a chance to talk—even patiently teaching her how to cook, despite nearly burning down the kitchen more than once.

Now, Hotaru cooked when she upset and she could rival Makoto when it came to the complicated recipes, though Hotaru _loved_ to make desserts. It was how she created her Mini Manju, with Makoto writing down the ingredients during each experiment and scraping the ones that were _terrible_. Her mini manju were _amazingly_ popular when she made them and they could _only_ turn out right, Hotaru had found, when used with the _best_ ingredients.

Maybe she'd make some while she was going through her records at her Secret Getaway.

Hotaru smiled softly to herself. "That's actually sounds like a pretty good idea. I think I'll do just that."

Hotaru opened the guest room's closet and took a black sports bag down from the shelf, setting it on the bed. Hotaru opened the bag and took out one of the sets she had tucked in the bag a while back. Jeans, a pair of thigh high socks, long sleeved shirt, a hoody jacket, a jean jacket and pair of Converse high tops, were quickly stacked on the bed from the bag and she took a _very_ carefully folded up backpack from one of the side pockets.

Without thinking twice, Hotaru stripped off her uniform and took out her headband, running a hand through her hair. A soft breath of air brushing the center of her back above her bra strap, made Hotaru whip around to see who was behind her. She searched the room behind her, looking for the one responsible for that brushing touch. Was someone there but she just couldn't see them?

Some kind of illusion, perhaps?

The word "genjutsu" brushed across her mind as she tried to think of an illusion that could fool the senses…but that was _ninja_ art, not something that _normal_ people would know how to do. Hotaru had learned ninjitsu before the Tokugawa Shogunate, though she hadn't really _needed_ to learn it. It had just given her something fun to do during that time.

…but were there _still_ some shinobi clans living in the shadows?

"…it had _better_ be my paranoia…" Hotaru muttered to herself, turning back to the bed. She snatched up her thigh high socks and pulled them on, pulling off the socks she had worn for school. She half shimmied into the jeans, holes in the knees and tattered cuffs making her smile in amusement, and then pulled her shirt on over her head, pulling her hair up into a ponytail at the back of her head with some strands hanging by her ears and framing her face.

She fished out a box of jewelry from another pocket and took out a pair of hoops, putting the box back in the pocket. She removed her studs from her ears, replaced them with the hoops in her hands and hooked the studs together with their backs, tucking them into the small pocket above the right front pocket. She pulled on both jackets, making sure the hood went _over_ the jean jacket's collar and zipped up the hoody jacket part way.

She flapped the folded up backpack once, easily unfolding it. She folded up her sweater, blouse, skirt and undergarments before tucking them into the smaller pocket of the backpack. She balled up her white socks and stuffed them in with her clothes, setting the backpack on the bed. She zipped up and stowed the sports bag again, closing the closet door once more. She grabbed her Converse and her backpack, then headed out to the front door again.

Hotaru stowed her school shoes under her uniform and then opened her school bag. She put anything she would need frequently into her pockets and things she'd need not _as_ frequent, into the backpack's accessory pocket. She put her school bag into the backpack's main pocket before zipping everything up and shrugging on the straps. She applied Chapstick to her lips, coloring them a few tones darker and then stuffed the tube into her jeans' pocket.

As Hotaru pulled on her Converse, she felt the hair by her right ear move. She looked over her shoulder at the apartment, no one actually there once again. She suppressed the urge to shiver as she quickly tied her shoes and got to her feet, unlocking the door to leave the apartment. Hotaru locked the door behind her and pocketed the keys before going to the stairs but instead of going _down_, she went _up_ to go to the roof.

Hotaru reached the roof and went to the back, gripping the railing and looking out at the other apartment buildings, the shops and the river behind Makoto's building. She looked at the _river_ most of all. Like _all_ land-based Chimeras, Hotaru had an inherent fear of water but in the past, she could wade up to her knees before it'd kick in, which was _unusual_ for her kind—but a child that _didn't_ swim in the modern world was _unheard_ of, according to Michiru. And it had taken gold-medalist swimmers to teach Hotaru how to swim and dive pretty.

It had taken Navy Seals and Marines to teach her how to swim—_period_.

…but _never_ before had she heard the call of _water_ like _this_.

The river was _calling_ to her, begging that she come to it. Begging her to let it catch her as she came down from the sky. And before Hotaru knew it, she was standing on the railing that surrounded the building's roof and she eased into a crouch, preparing to spring forward as she felt strength pool into her coiled leg muscles.

She propelled herself forward, pushing off the railing with enough strength to _bend_ the railing inward by at least a foot. She soared in straight ascent up, the climb sloping gradual, until she started to come down, like an athlete doing a long jump.

She let her arms rise to shoulder level and put her feet under her in expectation of the landing, closing her eyes and relaxing every muscle in her body. It looked like she was going to crash into the concrete between the river and Makoto's apartment building, and if anyone was watching, they would have _surely_ believed that she would.

The sensation of connecting with the water sent a _thrill_ up her nerves, the river _rippling_ outward upon her impact. Hotaru felt her knees stoop with the momentum as then straighten out again, standing her upright. She stood still for several moments, feeling the water smooth out again beneath her feet and _every_ cell practically _sing_ in rejoice at the connection that was _seemingly_ reestablished.

Hotaru slowly opened her eyes and looked up and saw nothing but _sky_ overhead. There were no buildings, but at the edge of her view, and the rest was _sky_…

"…just like with Sempai in Okinawa…" Hotaru murmured, watching the clouds drift across the sky overhead. A light twinge echoed through her mind, making her drop her head and close her eyes. The pain grew worse as the faded and ghostly image of a young man in a pair of long trunks and t-shirt held out his hands to her, his face amid the whitened edges.

Hotaru squatted where she stood, pressing the heels of her hands against her forehead. She _had_ to get around this-this _pain_—_whatever_ it _really_ was….and _why_ it had started when her lips had formed those words on their _own_ volition.

The water moved under her feet, getting Hotaru to open her eyes. She could see her reflection in the water, looking back at her, until a ripple wavered it and let Hotaru know she wasn't alone. Because of this, Hotaru stood and looked towards where the ripple had come from.

There were no more ripples, as if they had suddenly stopped, and there was no one else on the river that she could _see_…but she was _sure_ that someone was _there_, _staring_ at her.

"…where are you, huh?" Hotaru muttered, searching the area she was _positive_ the ripples had come from. Whoever it was, they had to be within the limits of her position and the confines of the river. And if they weren't going to show themselves on their own, she was going to do it herself.

Hotaru narrowed her eyes a hair and the wind began to pick up, clouds beginning to roll across the sky. She hadn't done _this_ on purpose before, so she _had_ to be careful. And hopefully, she wouldn't hurt someone who had tried to catch her when she had jumped…but given they weren't showing themselves, Hotaru was betting they probably _weren't_ a part of the good guys.

The wind brushed close to the water, making the surface ripple and move in the other direction. Hotaru watched the ripples carefully and her eyes widened a hair when she saw the _gap_ in the ripples, where whoever was watching her was standing.

Okay—_time_ to get _off_ the river.

Without thinking about it, Hotaru ran for the far side of the river, her brewing storm stopping and dissipating away again. She reached the other side of the river and jumped up, catching the ledge of the bank. As she hauled herself onto the concrete barrier's top, she looked over her shoulder and saw the ripples of whoever was following her.

_Shit._ Hotaru thought darkly, getting to her feet and vaulting over the railing. She ran across the street and ducked into an alley way between a pair of buildings. She turned a corner and pressed her back against the shadowed wall, waiting to see if she was being followed.

The soft footsteps of whoever was following her, echoed dimly in the alleyway. Hotaru's eyes narrowed and she put her bare hand against the shadows, willing them to turn into a pocket of darkness as she stepped back into the dark pool. Now, if she was _aware_ of what she was doing, Hotaru would have probably stopped in that instant and risked getting caught but when _she_ was the hunted, Hotaru _let_ the predator within her take over and then it was escape by any means necessary.

From the darkness that was wrapped around her, Hotaru watched a grown man who looked like he had undergone a _lot_ of body modifications, walk into the alley she had ducked into. He stopped, unknowingly, in front of her and searched the space before him with creepy eyes. His skin was blue and he had what could possibly be _gills_ below his eyes if he really _was_ the shark he was trying to emulate. His gritted teeth were pointed and sharp, his lips thin in the sneer they were curved into and his hands in fists.

He wore a pair of pale khaki cargo pants over a pair of black and white sneakers, a black vest with no sleeves and a high collar that folded down and partially unzipped, and a white short sleeved shirt. There was a black head band around his head and a pair of black sweatbands on his wrists. His black hair was sort of longish and stuck out of the top of the headband in at least three big spikes, or so it appeared for the moment.

"…Damn, that girl's slippery…" He muttered to himself, rubbing his chin as he relaxed out of the aggressive posture. "I didn't expect her to gimme the _slip_ like this. She's pretty good, for not bein' _active_ for so damn long. Heh, no _wonder_ she's got that kid's attention."

His cell phone rang, playing the _JAWS_ theme that denoted an impending shark attack.

_Fitting ring tone, considering his appearance._ Hotaru thought as he took the phone from his vest pocket and flipped it open, putting it to his left ear. The phone was metallic pale ocean blue and there were black tribal decals of waves and sharks on it, the phone charms being a shark tooth, a sectioned shark that could "swim" at the end of its cord and a charm that bore the kana spelling "SAMEHADA" on metal square beads—that last one obviously a custom job. The loop was blue and had white fish patterns on it.

"Yeah, it's me." He said after a voice spoke for a moment. The voice spoke again, then fell silent. The volume was turned down too low for her to hear what the caller was saying. "No, I didn't get 'er. She's pretty damn good, considerin' she's fallin' so outta practice that she doesn't notice what she really is…nah, not useless—jus' rusty. She's still pretty good, since she got away from _me_ an' I was practically on her back…"

The man turned back towards the opening of the side alley, letting Hotaru see his left hand. There was a white ring bearing a yellow disk on his ring finger. Was it a class ring or some kind of wedding band?

No, there was a kanji on it. What did it say, "nan"?

Wait—why did his ring say "south"?

"What? No, she's okay as far as I can tell—considering she _leapt_ off an apartment complex roof and _landed_ on the river." The shark man replied to his caller. "No, not 'in' the river—_on_ it. Yeah, on the surface an' it was like she hadn't done it in a while. You shoulda seen how her body _relaxed_ as soon as she made contact with the water. She's got _no_ idea what she is but I think she's starting to figure it all out again…oh, yeah—she's _definitely_ the same one. She was gettin' that damn coughin' problem again but then it's seemed to ease off. Looks like Pein's right—she's got a subconscious mesh over her lungs to seal the damage…well, yeah, it explains how she's come _this_ far without it actin' up until now."

Hotaru bit her lower lip in restraint, trying to keep her anger in check. _How_ did she _miss_ people _following_ her, _spying_ on her like _this_?

_Tch. This damn planet's turning a mighty predator into a fucking _house pet_. I _can't_ allow this to continue much farther._ Hotaru thought a touch darkly. _I'll have to look for someone to help me get back to my former condition. I _cannot_ protect the Earth when I've been letting people follow me without my knowledge._

Well, at least she had been _very_ careful, due to her paranoia.

"What?" The man following her said, regaining her attention. "No, I ain't gotta clue where she jus' vanished to. Trust me—the alley she ducked into is a dead end an' _yes_, I checked if she went _up_. She jus' went _poof_."

He started walking back towards the street, Hotaru slipping out of the shadows to follow him. She pulled out of the shadows completely and looked around the corner he took. He stopped and looked back, the girl pulling herself back to dodge getting spotted.

"…y'know, I didn't _sense_ anything but I think she _might_ be usin' _camouflage_, either a sheet or a jutsu—but she's nowhere I could see." The man said, resuming his walk as Hotaru looked at her hands. She could climb up walls like a spider if she thought about it or as a muscular reflex, and of course, she could use her nails as claws but it would hurt to just climb by her fingers.

She mentally sighed. There was no way around it…

Hotaru turned and ran up the side of the building, making it up half way before she put her hands onto the wall. She slid a half inch before her clinging took hold and nearly jerked her fingers out of socket. Hotaru took a deep breath and let it out, lifting one hand off the wall and putting it up higher. If anyone saw her, they'd _definitely_ start calling her "Spider Girl" as she basically crawled along the wall after the man, carefully moving around the corner to keep up with him.

She hadn't done this in a _long_ time and her hands were going to be _aching_ for the next few days because of this. She didn't like hanging from her hands but she couldn't take off her shoes and guarantee that she'd be able to use her feet too. While it was hard to keep the cling up with her hands, it was even _harder_ to depend on being able to cling with her feet.

"…uh-oh…" Hotaru muttered, feeling her hands let go of the wall. She couldn't catch herself in time and she hit the edge of the building's awning with her shoulder, jarring enough to make her eyes close. Her body automatically reacted to the enclosing earth, flipping her bonelessly around to land on her feet. She stumbled back a half step with the momentum, meaning she had been leaning out farther than she had realized.

Hotaru gripped her shoulder and expected that shark guy to still be in the alley way but he was _gone_. She went to the entrance and looked around, even looked up, but didn't see him anywhere. Frustration made her huff up her bangs in annoyance.

Well, so much for _following_ the guy to get some answers…

Hotaru tightened the grip on her shoulder as she put her hand in her pocket to ease the ache. She pushed her bangs out of her eyes and headed down the sidewalk, heading to her secret hideout. Above her, the shark guy stepped up to the ledge of the building and watched her walk away, his cell phone still to his ear. A sharky grin curved his lips as he noted his _very_ good fortune.

"Bingo, she's the _one_—we've _found_ her."

* * *

Dun-dun-duuuuuuun

Plz read and review!


	8. Aching Limbs, Avoiding Murder

Looooong overdue-writer's block sucks.

To make up for that: **http:/ kazi-kun. livejournal. com/tag/fanfic**

**Reviews:**

**Black Convoy:** That was a cute chapter, wasn't it? I wasn't so sure how it'd do, over all but I'm glad you like it! And my wit's only sharp when I'm not trying to force it, which is harder than it sounds.

*bows* Thanks, I'm glad it was well recieved. I was afraid of getting a bunch of WTF reviews, but decided "What the hell" and posted it anyway.

Okay, onwards!

* * *

Naruto/Bleach/Sailor Moon

**"Timeless Scarlet Rain"**

(Version Two)

**Chapter 8:**

**"Aching Limbs, Avoiding Murder"**

Yep—her hands were _definitely_ hurting.

Hotaru sighed, mentally scolding herself. She should have just jumped onto the roof and watched from overhead, instead of taking the risk of being spotted in the shop…window…across…the street.

_Fuck_—the bastard _had_ to have seen her in the reflection!

"Goddammit!" Hotaru hissed angrily at herself. "I'm getting so damn _pathetic_! I should have _considered_ that damn window before I chose to mimic a spider." She hit herself in the forehead. "What the _hell_ is _wrong_ with me? I'm not usually this…" Hotaru sighed, releasing all her agitation, putting her hands in her pockets. "…this totally sucks. I'm making _major_ rookie mistakes."

Hotaru took a deep breath and let out slowly, finding her center once more. She had to be _very_ careful with her amount of power, seeing as it _doubled_ when she died and only increased by _half_ when she was heavily wounded. It was assumed—by careful study and observation by Ami and Taiki—that Hotaru's power reacted much like the human body: broken bones became denser as they healed, constantly irritated skin became thick and callused, constant use of muscles increased strength, and the like minded developmental examples.

Of course, Hotaru had _broken_ her bones so many times in battle that they were starting to turn into a type of _crystal_ called "calcite" which while the _name_ sounded like it was from Earth, the crystalline mineral was _not_. According to what Mamoru could find out, the color of the crystallization differed from person to person and for a while, it was suspected Hotaru's calcite would be purple, garnet red or maybe even black.

Nope—it was light _teal_.

Hotaru only found _that_ out when she received a deflected Crescent Beam to the thigh and exposed the bone. Needless to say, the color surprised the Senshi but it _also_ spawned a _lot_ of teasing from Seiya, Minako, Usagi and Haruka for a _long_ time. Michiru had thought it was adorable that Hotaru's body was beginning to show the Neptunian Princess's influence in her life, thus trying to urge Hotaru to follow more in her footsteps. Thankfully, _Yaten_ came to her rescue saying that the calcite was only light teal because of an amino chemical that was in her Draga Panther blood. And it _definitely_ rained on Michiru's parade.

The thought of her crystalline sections made Hotaru look at her right hand, taking it from her jacket's pocket. Would her fingers begin to become crystal with the strain she had put on them? And if so, would it carry over to her nails, which were her claws and were in turn _like bone_ themselves, turning them light teal and virtually shatterproof? But didn't _all_ crystal shatter when introduced to a certain sound frequency?

"…if I keep _this_ up, I'm going to drive myself _insane_ again…" Hotaru muttered, closing her eyes as she returned her hand to her pocket and stepped around a pair of adults talking on the sidewalk. She sighed softly as she stopped at the street corner, seeing the neon clock above a door two shops down from the corner.

She groaned softly in irritation, dropping her head forward. "This is _sooo_ damn _cheap_ already! Why didn't I just _teleport_ over there? Why did I have to talk myself into _walking_?"

"Because if you did that, they'd be able to track you." A male voice said, softly purring to her. Hotaru nearly jumped out of her skin and whipped around to see who was standing directly behind her without her notice. "Wait—don't move!"

Hotaru registered the dip of her body as her foot slipped on the edge of the curb—she had forgotten she had been standing so close to the edge—and fell backwards, making her look back over her shoulder. A hand strong as steel grabbed her hand and jerked her back onto the side walk as a car's side mirror _narrowly missed_ her cheek, the slipstream strong enough to scrape her skin as everything seemed to slow down and move so _very_ slowly. Everything sped up again as Hotaru found herself jerked not _only_ back onto the sidewalk but into the strong embrace of a man taller than her, her face buried in his chest with his hand on the back of her head and his other arm around her shoulders, as if to comfort her.

Hotaru mentally cursed her stupidity and was beginning to feel the sting in her cheek. She had been so stupid as to let someone get so close behind her and _then_ forget where she was so close to the edge of the curb. She didn't _dare_ push out of the man's grasp. She could tell with the strength of his hand and of his arm—if she tried to fight him in her condition, he'd beat her to a pulp no problem.

The calcite-converted sections of her skeleton were _stronger_ than her actual bones and with the strain she had done to her hands and the blow to her left shoulder….and with whatever _else_ was happening with her…

Yeah, she'd _definitely_ get her ass kicked good and proper.

Trying to clear her head, Hotaru ended up only taking a deep breath of the man's scent and not of fresh air. He smelled of cool sand, blood, laundry detergent and power—things that would have probably gone unnoticed by anyone else. And that scent of cool sand—Hotaru _knew_ it from somewhere but even _recognizing_ it made her head hurt.

"Are you all right?" The man asked as he released her and gently held onto her biceps, lowering himself to a knee in front of her. It made him look up at her but it pissed Hotaru off, since she wasn't _that_ short.

His eyes were brown and strangely cold and distant, contrasting with the otherwise warm and gentle expression on his face. His brown hair was slicked back, save for a lock that hung in his face. He wore a white dress shirt over a faded denim blue t-shirt and a pair of blue jeans. He was totally harmless looking to the outsider but he was setting off damn near _every_ alarm in Hotaru's head.

He lifted one hand from her bicep and gingerly brushed the skin below her graze, making it sting and throb. "It looks like checking over your right shoulder was a mistake. This could have been a whole lot worse than just this little scrape."

Hotaru let her own eyes go expressionlessly cold and indifferent. "What does it matter to _you_? You don't _really_ care. You're a total _stranger_—who are _you_ to _assume_ that I'll be perfectly all right with you _touching_ me without my permission?" She emphasized her words by swatting his hand from her face and jerking her bicep out of his other hand. "Leave me alone. I don't know you."

"My, you certainly _are _your father's daughter." The man replied rising to his feet with a half smirk. "I wasn't expecting for _his_ need to hide to carry over to _you_, not when _you_ don't know _why_ you're hiding to begin with."

That got Hotaru to mentally growl and question what the hell he was on but she kept her expression perfectly schooled, arching an eyebrow. "Who says I'm _hiding_? You _don't_ know me and pretending that you _do_, is rather foolish for a grown adult."

Hotaru turned and stepped off the curb. She was half away across the street before the man spoke again.

"_Foolish_ is someone who's ignorant of _who_ and _what_ they really are and act as if they're something they're _never_ going to be."

Hotaru stopped on the crosswalk and looked back at the man, planning on stopping her "polite" STFU but she was mildly surprised to see that he was gone. Puzzled on a whole _new_ level, Hotaru turned back around and crossed the rest of the street. What was going _on_ today? Why was she attracting _every_ freak in Tokyo?

"Jeesh…what the hell's _next_? Those dumbasses from Konoha Middle an' Mashida skippin' class in this district?" Hotaru muttered to herself with a heavy sigh as she rubbed the back of her neck, her eyes closed. "I feel like a _freak magnet_ all over again. Man, you'd think having to go through _puberty_ over an' over again would make me _smarter_ than this."

Hotaru resettled the straps of her backpack on her shoulders and stuffed her hands in her pockets, casting a wary look over her shoulder. The man wasn't following her as far as she could tell but that didn't mean she wasn't being followed. Hotaru turned back around and started to run, not looking back this time.

She turned a corner and hit the brakes, wishing that she was _never_ right _ever_ again.

"Just my damn luck." Hotaru muttered to herself as the currently frozen brawlers stared at her in surprise. "Mashida _and_ Konoha Middle…goddammit, I _hate_ being _right_ all the time. _Just_ what I need after dealing with _Sasuke Uchiha_."

"Wha…Sasuke?" A blond mumbled, his shirt front in the grip of a Mashida punk. "Hey, you—you know Sasuke Uchiha?"

The bastard with an ego big enough to be seen from _space_—did she _know_ him?

Hotaru bit back a retort. She couldn't afford to get in a fight with delinquents—okay, _another_ fight with delinquents.

Hotaru turned and headed back to the street corner. She'd cross the street and then take the next turn up ahead. She'd have to back track a bit but to avoid these guys—_and_ another ass chewing from a certain Uranian Princess, it was _well_ worth the few seconds of wasted time.

Okay, so Haruka didn't pose _that_ much of a threat—not that she pose much of _anything_ other than a migraine for Hotaru, but the principle was still there. She didn't want to have to listen to Haruka bad mouthing her race just because if Hotaru retaliated, she'd be in _BIG_ trouble with Cosmos.

…Again.

"Hey—I'm _talkin_' to you!" Hotaru ignored the blond the best she could, his voice making her head _ache_ for _whatever_ reason. She _had_ to put more distance between them. She _had_ to get away from him.

Someone grabbed her arm and jerked it to stop her, _jarring_ her injured shoulder hard enough that Hotaru's conscious mind went momentary _blank_ in the wave of half-dull flair of pain. She spun with the jerk and brought her free hand around to _plow_ it into the jackass's jaw without a second thought. The right cross sent the punk _flying_ in a spiral before he crashed into his friends, who had tried to catch him but _only_ succeeded in getting bowled over when they collided.

"Don't _ever_ touch me _without_ my _permission_ ever again, you worthless pissant!" Hotaru snarled darkly, feeling the numb in her shoulder ebbing away into an aching burn. "Or you'll get _worse_ than that damned _love tap_ next time!"

"…shit…she's like _Sakura_…" One of the shell-shocked Konoha boys muttered as the blond groaned and sat up, a hand to his bruised cheek.

"…she's _stronger_…" The blond muttered with a wince, getting his schoolmates to look at him shocked. "…that was _pure_ strength…"

"Dumbass." Hotaru muttered before turning around and getting back on track, massaging her left shoulder with a soft curse under her jackets.

Maybe she ought to stop at a store and purchase an ice pack, a hot patch and maybe some muscle ointment…shit, now that she had thought of it, that _man_ had pulled on her left arm too.

_Damn_—no _wonder_ it was starting to _hurt_ so damn _soon_. She should have had at _least_ another 20 minutes or so _before_ the numb started fading.

Hotaru sighed and then winced softly, biting her lower lip as the aggravated muscles spasmed painfully. That pain reliever that masked painter had given her, had probably worn off by now. And like previously, the thought of that masked visitor brought fingers to her lips and she couldn't help but smile softly at the memory as she put her hand back in her jacket pocket.

"…man, I should have gotten his _name_ before he disappeared like." Hotaru sighed softly to herself, letting her mind drift off like she was a normal girl for a block or two.

…at least until the sound of ungracefully running feet and soft panting broke her out of her reminiscing. She sighed under her breath annoyed and turned around in time to see the blond punk pulling his hand back, like he had been reaching for her right shoulder before remembering her warning and was pulling back a moment before she turned. She scowled at the taller teenager and he gave her a nervous smile as he scratched the back of his head.

"Uh, s-sorry about before." He apologized. "Didn't know ya were hurt."

"What the _hell_ do you want?" Hotaru half snapped at him. "I am _not_ in the mood to be _charitable_—_or_ merciful."

"Uh, heh heh, kinda noticed." The blond rubbed his cheek, getting Hotaru to realize he had a cooling patch on it. She had seen Sasuke, his friends, the substitute teachers and some of the other odd people Hotaru had ran into at some of her frequent stops in this district, with them on for whatever reason.

The blond offered her his hand. "Could we start over again? I'm Naruto Uzumaki, a former classmate of Sasuke Uchiha's."

Hotaru warily took his hand. "Hotaru Tomoe, current classmate of the egotistical ass."

"Wait...I _know_ you." Naruto said, startling Hotaru a bit. He looked her over. "…ya look _totally_ different outta the skirts an' dresses, didn't recognize ya right away. You don't look like a dork in normal clothes!"

Though he _probably_ meant it as a compliment, Hotaru felt her anger bubble and her eyebrow twitched as her hand tightened on his, making Naruto wince.

"_What_ was that?" She half growled, her eyes narrowing. The nervous expression on his face brought an old, nearly forgotten memory forward from her life as a kindergartener. She remembered her kindergarten teacher scolding a short row of kids while another teacher dusted her off and patched her scraped knees. And in the lineup was nervous blond with…_whiskers on his face_.

Just. Like. _Naruto_.

"…were you _ever_ in Ms. Yoshida's kindergarten class?" Hotaru asked with a touch of a growl.

"Yeah, why?" Naruto asked cluelessly.

Hotaru jerked her hand out of his and delivered _another_ right hook into his jaw, _right_ on top of the _previous_ bruise. She didn't care that she might have broken his jaw _or_ damaged his teeth. She could do a whole shit lot _worse_ to the little bastard.

Turning on the ball of her foot and flexing her now _very_ achy hand, Hotaru stalked down the sidewalk muttering curses upon school yard bullies with shortened long-term memories under her breath. She closed her eyes and stuffed her hand into her jacket pocket, attempting to ignore the whispering voice at the back of her mind to just go _back_ and _kill_ the blond bastard. Hotaru kept shoving the rest of the memories of getting picked on in kindergarten out of her mind as soon as they popped up, not willing to deal with them.

After all, _murder_ was _not_ on her To Do List.

* * *

Yeeeah, avoiding murder is a GOOD thing...at least, for NOW it is.

Well, please read and review. I'll do my best to churn out the next chapter.


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